


Mercurial

by Vargras



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Morag is Morag., No Tora or Poppi though SORRY I DON'T LIKE WRITING THEM, Pyra finally gets what she wants and Mythra just tries so hard to be supportive, Rex rolls with everything because he's Rex and also he loves his girlfriend so much, Zeke is actually smart for once, nia is still angry in welsh, time for more good ol' pyrex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-08-06 01:57:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16379204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vargras/pseuds/Vargras
Summary: After several months of searching, Pyra finally discovers a way to get what she's always wanted.Unfortunately, the books failed to mention just how involved it can be.





	1. Honest Goals, Questionable Methods

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with more Pyrex because I had a headcanon that I really wanted to put out there.
> 
> Also per tags, there's probably never gonna be any Tora or Poppi. I just don't like writing for them. Like, at all.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sifting through their memories, Pyra finds a way to achieve a lifelong goal.
> 
> Mythra makes an earnest attempt at being supportive of it.

Elysium -- or rather, what was left of it from within their memories. The _old_ Elysium, when it was still lush and beautiful. Still _alive_. Still... there. It was her own little world, a place she could visit with ease each and every night while she slept. Better yet, she didn't have to share it alone either.

"Mythra?"

There was a small burst of ether, and Mythra came into being not terribly far from Pyra's spot beneath the tree. Much as she enjoyed her own dreams, she also valued her talks with her sister. If Pyra wished to speak, surely there was a reason behind it. "What's up? Something on your mind?"

"Yeah..." Pyra sighed and fiddled with her own hands. Yep, definitely something on her mind when she was fidgeting like that. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Like?"

She paused, hesitated almost. "If... you could give half of your Core back to Rex again... would you?"

"Thinking about it again, huh?"

Was she really that easy to read? I mean, it was her _own sister_ , after all. It shouldn't be terribly surprising. "You could say that."

"Pyra, I _get it_ . You're totally gaga for Rex and you miss the connection you two used to have when you were still sharing part of yourself with him. But..." Mythra slumped down beside her sister and leaned against the tree. "Without the Conduit, it's kinda... moot, ya know? You only pulled that off before, because one, you're an Aegis, and two, the Conduit gave you the power to even _do_ that. Besides, Indol is total history now, and Amalthus was pretty much the last guy around who even knew how to do the whole 'Blade Eater' thing."

Pyra stared at the ground momentarily before turning to her sister. "What if... I told you that I had found a way."

"It's a cute idea, sis, but--" Realization seemed to hit Mythra as if she had just been slapped upside the face by Brighid herself. "Wait, _what_?"

"I said I found a way. A way to... take things back to how they were. To give part of the Core away."

" _How?!_ " Mythra was _absolutely_ incredulous, and she could hardly be blamed -- the knowledge of Blade Eaters had essentially been lost to the annals of history with the death of Amalthus, presumably the very last person around who even knew how to pull it off. There were no other records, and Indol itself was gone beneath the Cloud Sea. "How did you even...? You're... you're serious, aren't you? You're _actually_ serious."

"Would I ever lie to you?" Pyra grinned a bit, that all-knowing grin of hers that told her sister that she, in fact, was _not_ messing around. "I found it while digging through some old memories of ours. Well... yours. From your time in Torna."

"Torna... of course." It seemed so blatantly obvious now. Of _course_ the Tornans had known how. She huffed a bit in response. "Well Pyra, let's hear this plan of yours, then."

"Well..."

 

* * *

 

Pyra had been in an awful hurry that morning when she had very quickly, and somewhat forcefully, told him to meet with her later. _Still,_ Rex mused, _I'm sure it's somethin' important._ Pyra was very much the sort to do things with particular reasons behind them -- always much more clever than she ever let on. She hadn't even said where she was running off to for the day, but his stomach told him that perhaps he should focus on breakfast first before trying to chase off after her. She _did_ mention that she had left something for him on the table, and Pyra's cooking was not something that one passed up. Right, food first.

As he walked down the hall, a door flung upon, very nearly taking his head off. Yep, Mythra's room. He saw her poke her head out the door and quickly look around before settling her withering gaze upon him. "Rex."

"Uh, g'morning Mythra. How are y-" Rex winced a bit as the Aegis clamped down upon his wrist and drug him back into her room, slamming the door shut behind him. Right, food _later_ then. "Easy, Mythra! What's uh... what's going on?"

She let go of her grasp upon his poor wrist, sighing and taking a seat upon her own bed. There was a quick gesture to take a seat beside her -- he may have been her Driver, but one disobeyed an Aegis at their own peril, and as he quickly took a seat, she spoke. "My fool sister, that's what."

"W-what?"

"Pyra. She's... _so_ very like you, in so many ways. She's just so... how do I put this." Mythra pressed a finger against her own forehead as she thought on it. "...her heart's too big sometimes. Ya know, like you. Cares too much. You know how it is."

"I mean... yeah, sure--"

"You even forgave _Jin_ , for crying out loud. The guy stabbed you through the _heart_ , Rex."

"I know! I was... you know, _there_ for it and all." Rex seemed the tiniest bit confused right now. Hard to blame him, really. "Mythra, what's this really about?"

The Aegis--or rather, _an_ Aegis now--reached over and took one of his hands into her own. "I need to know that you're not gonna screw her over. Just... hear it in your own words, you know?"

"I'm... sorry, Mythra, but I uh... I'm not followin' here."

 _Father grant me strength, I thought he would've been less dense by now_. "Look, it's no real secret that you and Pyra are totally a thing. We all saw the signs. You two regularly gallivant around town, holding hands and looking all lovey-dovey. It's cute stuff, really. But I... just need to know that you're not gonna hurt her."

He couldn't help but be taken aback. What could even begin to make her think that he might do that? _Willingly_ do that? "Mythra, you know I'd never hurt Pyra. _You_ , of all people, should know that by now, yeah? What's this even about anyways? You've never asked me this before."

"It's... well..." _Damn it, you took it too far and now he's suspicious like he absolutely should be_. "I... shouldn't really say. It's better that you hear from Pyra."

"Is that why she wants to me to meet up with her later?"

"Yeah." Mythra let go of his hand and brought her own back to rest on her lap. "Sorry to just... leave you hanging like this and all, but it's really not my place to go blabbing about it. Just..." She flopped her hands rather apathetically, as if for emphasis.

"It's... nothin' _bad_ , is it?" Rex leaned forward to raise a brow at her, a faint scowl on his face. "I mean, I kinda thought I'd been doing everything I was supposed to be doing..."

Oh no. She was making him anxious now. Mythra was giving Rex, quite possibly the warmest, sweetest, and most wholesome being in the entire world... anxiety. "N-no! No no no! It's... it's nothing bad, Rex! I..." _Man, really screwing this up right now_. "How about we just... go eat before it gets cold, yeah?"

"Oof, yeah, definitely feelin' it. I think you said the magic words. Let's chow down then we can see where Pyra ran off to, eh?"

 _Okay maybe not see where my sister ran off to, but at least you're not sweating over the talk later._ "Yeaaaah... sure! Hey uh, I'm sure Pyra will be _just_ fine, but I know it's starting to get a little messy around here, so how about we uh... tidy up after breakfast? I could really use your help, ya know."

He squinted a bit. "Mythra...? You've always hated cleaning."

"I-I have standards too!"

"Mm, right. Breakfast first then."

 _Whew_. Mythra was sure she was gonna get to collect on some favors after today was over.

 

* * *

 

That... should be everything. Should be. Pyra opened the tome once more and leafed through the pages, taking note of each and every little thing, and often glancing back to her own setup upon the floor. Yeah, that... seemed to be everything. A knock at the door broke her out of her concentration, and she snapped the book shut, placing it upon a table and rushing over to unlock it. "Who is it?"

"Who do you think?"

Ah. Her sister. Pyra quickly undid the locks--she _never_ locked the door but this was a particularly special scenario--and opened it just enough for Mythra to slip in before shutting and locking it behind her. "Hey. You stopping by to check on me?"

Mythra was busy glancing around the room, taking note of the... well, _everything_. "Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were handling... this. All of this. You're... actually doing it, aren't you?"

Pyra nodded. "You know I made this decision long ago."

"I know, I just... was stopping by to see if you were getting nervous. No cold feet yet?"

"Not yet, but... I'd be lying if I said the whole thing didn't make me nervous. Or scared."

"Crazy, unproven, and ancient ether ritual that no one is even sure works because it's been over 500 years since it was last done?" Mythra sighed and folded her arms. "Yeah, I think I'd be nervous too. How do you think he'll take it?"

Pyra's face gloomed a bit. "It's... hard to say, really."

"Pyra, c'mon now." She made a few quick steps over to her sister and placed both her hands upon her shoulders. "This is _Rex_ , we're talking about. If he cares about you at all, and I _know_ he does, then he'll at least be willing to listen. It's not like he's gonna go running screaming out of the room or anything."

"And if he does?"

"...I mean, doubt it."

Pyra giggled faintly. "I suppose you're right. I've been meaning to ask though, Mythra. You... don't resent me or anything for this, right?"

"For what? You and Rex, or _this_?" Mythra cracked a grin at the sight of Pyra's own faint blush upon bringing up her relationship status. "You're my _sister_ , Pyra. I could never. If this is truly what you want to do, I can't really stop ya, now can I? Besides, I think you deserve your fairytale ending."

"Even knowing what will happen?"

"Even knowing what will happen. I've got your back, alright? Just... try not to blow up the building or anything. You've got others living here too, you know." Mythra paused a bit to look back over her shoulder at what her sister had arranged. "Rex oughta be here soon too."

"Y-yeah."

"Already getting the jitters and you haven't even started. Hug?"

A hug sounded nice right now. "Hug."

As the two sisters embraced, Pyra began to ready herself for what was to come. It certainly wasn't going to be easy, but... few things were. _Sounds a bit like Rex_ , she mused.

 

* * *

 

 

Mythra had managed to find no shortage of work for Rex to do around the place. First it was cleaning, then it was patching up the roof, _then_ it was helping out some orphans with their schoolwork. It had all been very... _un_ -Mythra. She had never been the sort for any of those things, yet she had continued to string Rex along with errand after errand.

And then there was the way she had been acting earlier. It all didn't add up.

Wait. Yes, yes it did.

Everything Mythra had been doing had repeatedly kept Rex away from ever catching up with whatever it was that Pyra had done all day. The two had something going on that involved him in some way, he just didn't have the slightest clue _what_. At the very least, he knew it couldn't be anything overly terrible -- Mythra might be a colossal tease, but she never told any lies.

And now here he was, outside the door to the room he shared with Pyra, at the exact hour she had asked him to meet her. And Mythra was here. Outside the door. Waiting. For him. "You're late, Rex."

"Er... Mythra? What are ya doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She folded her arms and stared him dead in the eye. "Pyra put me on guard duty."

He blinked. "Guard duty? For what?"

 _Aw sheesh, me and my big mouth_. "To... uhh... prevent any interruptions."

"Interruptions? Of what?" Rex leaned towards her, squinting his eyes _yet again_. "You and Pyra have both been acting awfully strange today. You know that?"

Mythra gave a quiet sound of displeasure and abruptly unlocked and nudged open the door. "J-just go inside. She's waiting on ya."

"...right then." He shot Mythra a quick look and hurried his way inside the room, only to hear the door almost immediately shut--and lock--behind him. _Alright, that's different_. The room itself was unusually dim, with lit candles dotting the floor and furniture. In the middle of the room itself was a circle of sorts, which had been lined with... something, and several other "things" arranged around it in what seemed like a _very_ set pattern. And there, at the far side of the room itself, was Pyra sitting upon the bed. If he didn't know any better, this all very much looked like the exact kind of setup that Zeke had described in one of those lurid novels of his, of which Mòrag had very sternly told him _not_ to bring up around the others. "...Pyra? What's with all this?"

It almost seemed as if she was lost in thought, but then she lifted her head and gave him that warm, caring smile of hers, motioning to him. "Have a seat, Rex. I... have a request."

 _Didn't... she ask me that when we first met? All those months ago? That same way?_ He blinked momentarily, making his way over to sit beside Pyra upon the bed. The déjà vu was starting to kick in _awfully_ hard. "Uh... sure, Pyra. What's going on?"

"Do you remember the bond we used to have?" She placed a hand upon her own chest -- on her Core Crystal. "...This?"

Things still weren't making much sense, but he was sure he'd eventually get to the bottom of it. Pyra was never one to simply let things linger, especially now. "I mean, sure! You brought me back from the dead with it, and I had it all the way with me up til... well." He simply gestured rather than elaborate. What had taken place at the top of the World Tree was still a sore spot for him.

And not that she could really blame him for that. "Do you miss it?"

"What?"

"Do you miss it, Rex? Having part of my Core with you always."

"Of course! I mean, it wasn't always sunshine and roses, what with me hurting you every single time I got hurt, but..." Rex reached over and took one of her hands into his own, smiling as he did. "Like I said before, you gotta take the bad with the good, and having that was... something special, that only we had. I mean it was kinda _weird_ at first, being able to feel the same stuff that you do sometimes, but then it was... nice. Always felt kinda warm and tingly when I was near ya, and I could've sworn I could feel your heartbeat too."

If it weren't for the low light of the room, he probably could've seen that she was blushing. "...Thank you, Rex."

"Hey, anything for you, Pyra." He slowly looked around the room, his eyes finally adjusted to the candlelight -- yep, he had no idea what any of this was for. "Though I... still don't really know what's going on."

Pyra gave his hand a squeeze. "Rex, _if_ you could get that bond back somehow, if you could bring back that connection that we had... would you?"

"Pyra, I don't think..." He sighed and thought on it a bit. "I mean, of course I would, but... I don't think it's even possible. I mean... the Conduit's _gone_ , and so is Amalthus, so I don't know--"

"You know, Mythra said the exact same thing that you did, so I imagine your reaction will be the same as well, but..." Pyra couldn't help but grin at the next part. "I... might have found a way."

Rex stared at her. "Wait, _what_?"

Yep. Same reaction. A faint laugh from her too. "I found a way to give you part of my Core Crystal. To essentially make you a 'Blade Eater' again, as Zeke put it."

"I... but... _why_? Wouldn't doing that make you mortal? Why would you want to--" And then it dawned on him. The crushing sense of realization. _Titan's foot. The talk in the World Tree._ "Pyra... you don't mean...?"

"I do." She guided his hand up to rest upon her cheek, leaning against it. "I found my special someone, Rex. I just wasn't sure how I'd be able to reach that final point, though. Of... closing my eyes forever with them by my side."

"Pyra..."

"I'm sorry for sounding so pessimistic. To be totally honest with you, I've been searching for a way since Elysium." Pyra sighed and nuzzled against his hand a bit. "I didn't say anything because I didn't want to worry you. I know how you get sometimes."

He... wasn't quite sure what to say. All of this was a _lot_ to process. Pyra, the girl that he loved, _wanted to die_. Not immediately, of course, but at some point. "I... why though? Why now, why _me_?"

"Rex, I thought it'd be obvious. I _love_ you. You mean the world to me, and... to be frank, there's so much I'm _not_ sure about now. Without the Conduit, I'm not sure if I'm still _me_ , and if I'll still be around after you're..." She swallowed hard. Clearly not something she wanted to address. "After you're gone. I don't know if me and Mythra will go back to our Core Crystals and just _forget everything_ , or if we'll still be around and remember it all. But I'm just..."

"Pyra?"

She leaned against him, looking up at him with the most peculiar mixture of adoration and sadness. She looked... exhausted, in so many ways. "I'm _tired_ , Rex. I've already lived for so long, lived through so much... and seen far too many people that I care about pass on. And now you're here, the first person I feel like I've ever _truly_ loved, and I'm... scared. I'm afraid of the unknown. I'm not sure if I'll go back to my Core Crystal and simply _forget_ you and everyone else, or if I'll have to live on without you, but I just... can't stomach it. I can't stomach the thought of a world without you, Rex."

"So you'd... rather..." His jaw kept moving but no words came out. _You'd rather die_ , he thought, unable to truly articulate that.

"Yes. Yes I would." Pyra sighed and buried her face in his shoulder. "I know this is an awful lot to just throw out into the open. But... I've been thinking about it quite a bit, and I've made my decision. And before you ask, I've already talked it over with Mythra. She's fine with it."

"Wait, really?"

She nodded.

"I... hm." He slumped a bit, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around Pyra's waist. "So all of this stuff...?"

"Is for the ritual, yes. Though that's... assuming you accept. And even if you _did_ , there's any number of things that could possibly go wrong, like--"

"Let's do it, then."

She stammered, wide-eyed as she looked at him in shock. "W-wait, what?!"

"I said let's do it, Pyra. If your heart is _this_ set on it, and this is what you truly want, then I'll go for it." He gave her side a gentle squeeze and looked down at her with that telltale smile. Yep, he had made up his mind too.

"R-Rex, I haven't even told you about what _else_ might happen! Either one of us could be hurt, or killed! This is... it's all totally untested, there's just so much that we don't _know_ , and--"

"Pyra, do you trust me?"

 _Oh please don't do this to me, Rex. You know how well I handle your little talks._ "I-I... yes, of course!"

"And you already know that I trust you, yeah?" A slight nod from her, and a grin from him. "Then we've got nothing to worry about!"

"...How do you know that?"

He was still grinning. Yep, there was that trademark confidence of his. "Because I know _you_ , and I know how careful you are with these things. It's like... following a recipe, yeah?"

She slowly nodded, though she certainly didn't want to bring up how his metaphors had the tendency to miss the mark. _Though the 'coffee with milk' line was... both apt and cute_.

"Well, you're probably the best cook in all of Alrest, and I know how you're always trying to get recipes _juuuust_ right. So I already _know_ that you've got this one right too. Make sense?"

She... nodded a bit faster this time. It was hard to argue with logic like that, really.

"Good! So now that that's taken care of, how about you tell me a little more about this ritual deal, eh?"

With that, Pyra broke away from Rex's side and walked over to the small table she had left the tome upon, bringing it back over to her Driver. "This... is a book of Tornan rituals. Simply various ceremonies and rites that they performed throughout their land. Given the aptitude and fondness that the Tornans had for Blades, I shouldn't have been terribly surprised that _they_ would be the ones with this knowledge. But just look at _this_ , Rex."

She had opened the book to a singular point, spread across two pages, which described something simply referred to as... "...'The Binding'?"

"Yes. 'The Binding', as the Tornans called it, was a ritual they had created solely to bond Driver and Blade together and forever. Seemed that it was remarkably popular to perform, especially with how easily the various ingredients and necessary reagents could be acquired. I found numerous mentions of it in other history books. And yet, it... totally vanished once Torna sank beneath the Cloud Sea."

"Seems kinda odd, don't ya think?"

"More than a little. Perhaps... Indol suppressed knowledge of it. So that Amalthus would be the only one who knew how to do it."

Rex nodded. "Sounds about right. So uh... what _are_ all of these?" He gestured towards the numerous candles and circles that filled the room.

"Ah! So, it mentions that the atmosphere should be saturated with whatever ether the Blade that is taking part in the ritual is -- I'm a fire Blade, of course, so... candles fill that role."

"And the circles?"

"It... actually didn't really give a reason for those, but I assume there _must_ be one." Pyra traced a finger along the diagram shown upon the page, frowning somewhat. "They have everything displayed right here. Surely there's a purpose behind it."

"Eh, better safe than sorry, I 'spose." He leaned forward slightly, resting on his knees. "So do we... stand in one of the circles or somethin'?"

"I... guess?" She turned the book on its side, turning her own head with it. "Mm... yes! We're supposed to stand in... this one."

Rex simply stared at the circle she was pointing at, the largest one within the room. "Pyra. You said this thing could kill us if we did it wrong! You're absolutely sure it's that one?"

"You're the one who didn't want to listen to what might happen. Besides, you trust me, don't you?" She was grinning. Which meant she knew that she was right.

Rex sighed in response. "Yeah, alright..." He stood up and took a few steps forward, taking a spot within the center of the ring. "Here?"

"Perfect." The Aegis set down the tome upon the table once more and took her own place within the circle, directly opposite her Driver. "So... now we both kneel...?"

Both Rex and Pyra slowly knelt down within the circle, and it was only after they had both lowered themselves that Rex realized just how close the two of them were. "Er, now what?"

She paused--or was it hesitation?--and looked him in the eye. "Rex, before we go any further, I just need to ask... are you _really_ sure you want to do this? From everything I've read, the ritual cannot be stopped once started, and it's... irreversible. Once it's done, it's done. It's... also possible that it'll be painful as well. There's a good amount of ether at play here."

"My mind's set, Pyra. If this is what you've been wishing for, then I'm with you every step of the way." He let loose a deep breath and nodded to himself. "I'm ready when you are."

"Thank you, Rex. It's... difficult to show just how much this means to me." Pyra smiled and extended an arm out towards him. "Now, I need you to do as I do. Bring your arm out and place your hand upon my chest."

 _Déjà vu indeed_. He did as was instructed of him, slowly raising his hand to place upon her Core Crystal, just as he had done so many months ago when they had first met in Elysium. At first, nothing happened. _Did we do something wrong_? But the moment Pyra placed her own hand upon _his_ chest, things slowly began to... shift.

"Now, Rex, empty your mind of all thoughts and emotions except for those you feel for me, and I'll do the same in turn."

"A-alright..." He noted that Pyra had already shut her eyes tight in concentration, and he quickly did the same. Slowly, steadily, he tried not to think of anything _but_ Pyra. Of anything but the time and memories he had spent and shared with her. Something began to feel... warm. Strangely warm. There was a tightness in his chest, and what almost felt like a pull _towards_ Pyra. He tried to adjust his body a bit and... couldn't move his arm or hand. They were locked tight to Pyra's chest, and he could almost immediately tell that she was in a similar situation. "...P-Pyra?"

"I love you, Rex. I... I think it's begun, but no matter what happens, I love you."

"...I love you too, Pyra."

And then the mild warmth turned into a raging inferno.


	2. Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Binding very quickly proves to be far more than Rex or Pyra had bargained for.
> 
> Mythra temporarily hates her existence.

Mythra was grimacing. Hard. Harder than she even knew possible. She could practically _hear_ Brighid telling her about how 'all that frowning will give you wrinkles'. Try as she might though, it was outright _impossible_ to ignore what was going on in the room behind her -- Rex and Pyra's screams were certainly making sure of that.

It sounded... excruciating. Rex was in pain, _Pyra_ was in pain, her very own sister, and yet...

She had promised. Promised that she would guard the door, promised to make sure that under absolutely _no_ circumstances would anyone interfere. There was sure to be minimal fuss -- Zeke, Mòrag, and Tora were all otherwise preoccupied with their own business in their own regions of Alrest, their Blades included. That merely left Nia and Dromarch, who--

Yep, here she came. _Sprinting_ , at that. "Mythra! What th' bloody hell's goin' on?"

"Nice to see you too, Nia. Where's Dromarch?"

"Nevermind that, and what th' hell do ya mean 'Nice ta see ya too'?! Are ya deaf? Ya don't hear any of that?!"

Mythra scowled. "Oh, I hear it alright."

"And?! Yer just gonna stand around and do nothin'? Get outta my way if you won't!"

"I can't do that."

Nia stared at the Aegis, dumbstruck. "Wha... _what th' hell do ya mean ya can't do that?!_ Rex and Pyra sound like they're in absolute _agony_ , and yer just standin' around out here?!"

"They told me to." Mythra grimaced yet again. Nia was certainly an important friend and ally -- she was sure she'd _eventually_ understand, but right now it was... difficult to try and get her to simply accept these things. "I can explain later."

The Gormotti was looking positively _furious_ right now. "Nah nah nah, I don't think so! Ya sure as hell are gonna give me an explanation _now_ as ta why those two are gettin' tortured!"

"This was their decision, Nia. They chose to do this. And I made a vow that no one would interfere."

Mythra was being stern now. _Coldly_ and _scarily_ stern. It very much wasn't like her _at all_ , and yet... Nia could pick up on the palpable sense of _anguish_ that she was feeling right now. "Mythra, ya can't possibly..."

The Aegis scrunched her face, covering it slightly with one hand. "No one, Nia. Not even me."

 _Oh._ The gravity of the situation was beginning to settle in. A sudden sharp, blinding emerald light began to spill from beneath the door, causing Nia to quietly gasp. "Architect... what 'ave they done?"

In the midst of it all, in the midst of the howls of pain coming from the room and Nia's own quiet murmurs, Mythra stood resolute and gave her answer.

"Something... wonderful."

 

* * *

 

Never had it felt so hot. Never within the deepest reaches of his imagination did he even begin to _think_ that anything could reach such temperatures and _survive_ . He was almost certain the entire room would ignite at a moment's notice. But he was... burning. He felt it. In his lungs, his heart, his very _essence_ . This was... Pyra. This was Pyra's raw might and fury, her love and passion, her unbridled self. Her _true_ self. It was terrible.

It was... beautiful.

He had long lost the capacity to even hear himself scream, to hear Pyra scream, as a torrent of flame ether poured through them both. Everything simply _was_ , and existed within the conflagration. Visions and memories not of his own creation raced through his mind -- Pyra's memories. He was... seeing everything. _Feeling_ everything. Every single moment, everything she had ever experienced, was very suddenly becoming _his_ as well. He felt as if at any moment, his body would tear itself asunder, rip itself to shreds under the awesome force of an Aegis, yet he _will not burn will not burn will not burn will NOT BURN_ refuses to yield. He can’t. Not when she’s also suffering.

He picks up on the faintest hints of the scent of melting flesh. _His_ flesh. His arm, still very firmly attached to Pyra's chest, is smoldering. Smoking. _Burning_. He feels every moment of it, feels every second, feels _WILL NOT BURN WILL NOT BURN WILL NOT BURN_ as if he might witness it bursting into flame at any time. He forces, _wills_ himself to look across at Pyra, to watch her as she screams out in agony. She tries to stop herself, tries to force her own jaw shut, tries to stay strong _for him_ , and--

He senses it. He suddenly feels _her_ anguish as acutely as his own. Feels her raw emotions, her raw self, her very _being_ . It's overwhelming, enough for any mere mortal to be utterly crushed beneath... and he is in awe, captivated by the flames that are enveloping him. Enveloping them. _Her_ flames. _Their_ flames. They... almost look _soft_. Soft enough to touch. He extends a shaking arm to them, and they quickly leap to it, engulfing it _WILL NOT BURN WILL NOT BURN_ entirely. It... doesn't hurt. Not anymore. If anything, it feels... comforting.

And then he notices. The pain has stopped. He can very plainly see that he is _ablaze_ , flames licking at his body, and yet... he's not burning. He's not _screaming_. He just... is. He looks back up, makes himself gaze directly at the Aegis once more, and he's very nearly brought to tears by what he sees. Pyra, the inferno itself, is... absolutely _radiant_. She smiles at him, her hair dancing and billowing as if it were aflame, and he feels himself filled with immeasurable warmth. Never has he seen something so awe-inspiring in his entire life. Never has he seen _someone_ that shone with such intensity as to put the very stars to shame.

Has she... always been capable of this? Always been _this_ beautiful?

_We did it, Rex._

Her lips don't move yet he still hears her, soft and gentle, clear as day. She's speaking from _within him_.

_Pyra, this is..._

_...Incredible, I know. I... had no idea. This is just... beyond my wildest dreams._

_I wish you could see yourself right now. You're... words can't describe it._

The flames seemingly kick up in intensity. She's... blushing, and the blaze that surrounds them is responding. _You always were such a charmer when you wanted to be._

Rex wills himself to move and he _moves_ , the heat and fire of the room carrying him to her and lifting them both into the air. He could scarcely believe such a thing were even _possible_ , and yet he was living it. To be _this_ close to her now was simply beyond description -- he reached for her and he felt himself reach through air _and_ ether to embrace her, arms wrapping tight around one another as they spun. Their faces drew near to one another, and as they pulled each other in for a deep kiss, the very flames around them seemed to come alive, bursting and flaring with life. Within the conflagration, they were one, in body and soul.

They basked within the glow of one another, holding, prolonging, dragging on that kiss for as long as they could possibly manage. It felt like eternity. It felt so painfully _short_. Both Rex and Pyra slowly descended to the ground, neither one willing to let go of the other -- it seemed the ether, much like oxygen to a flame, had begun to run out. And suddenly they both felt so very _tired_. Feet made contact with the ground, their legs giving way and crumpling beneath them, and Driver and Blade collapsed against one another. Hurried kisses were given as both felt themselves rapidly lose touch with the world, and the last thing Rex heard and saw was Pyra lean against him to whisper sweet nothings.

 

* * *

 

Mythra and Nia both stood in stunned silence. Neither really wanted to be the one to make the first move, but... it _seemed_ as if things had finally stopped. There was no more light. No more screams, _thank the Architect for that_. Slowly, ever so slowly, Mythra undid the lock upon the door and turned the knob, gently nudging it open.

The key clattered to the ground as Mythra fell to her knees and openly wept. Never, in all her years, had she seen such a thing -- the amount of flame ether radiating off both her sister and Rex was... indescribable. More than what should even be possible for an _Aegis_. They both swam in it, _glowed_ from it. It was _wondrous_. And it was Nia's own frightened, shaking gasps that shook Mythra out of her own sense of awe.

"R-Rex!"

She didn't understand it at first. _Couldn't_ understand it. Couldn't understand why Nia would be so frightened of what she saw, and it wasn't until Nia rushed into the room and tried to move Rex that she caught a glimpse. She... really wasn't even sure what she was looking at, at first. Then the recognition kicked in, and she felt her own heart within her throat, her own hands over her mouth to stifle a cry, her eyes wide with terror.

Rex's arm was burnt. Badly. Quite possibly one of the worst she had ever seen, throughout all the long centuries she had lived. Nia was already in her Blade form and rapidly doing what she could to try and render aid, but Mythra could tell at a glance that she was panicking. Her hands were shaking, her body trembling -- something was amiss. Was it... not working? _At all_?

"C'mon! C'mon, you stupid piece of shite powers! Work!" Nia was very nearly flailing her arms now, her cries growing more and more frantic. "Why won't it work?! Why... why won't it..."

Things were quickly spiraling out of control. If she didn't try and handle the situation now, Nia was liable to hurt either herself or someone else, and neither was an acceptable outcome to Mythra. The Aegis quickly hurried into the room, past her own sister, past Rex and his mangled arm, and very quickly pressed Nia against the wall.

"Let go, Mythra! Let... me go!" The Gormotti was _growling_ now, trying desperately to break loose of Mythra's hold -- futile, of course, given how utterly outclassed in strength she was. "I need ta... I need ta help Rex! I need--"

"...Nia. Nia, look at me. Look. At. Me." Mythra had _very firmly_ taken hold of Nia's face with one of her hands, drawing a sharp, almost frightened gasp from her. _Gonna have to apologize for that later_. "You're panicking. You're freaking out, you're about to lose your _damn mind_ , because your healing abilities aren't working, yeah? And it's not working because Rex has _so much flame ether in him right now, that you're hopelessly outmatched_. This place is absolutely _saturated_ in the stuff. It’s… it’s not that your powers don’t work, it’s that you’re trying to put out a _wildfire_ with a _watering can_. What he needs now--what _they_ need now--is time. Together."

Nia looked like she was on the verge of tears, very likely a combination of being _completely unable to help Rex_ , and Mythra giving her a verbal thrashing. "H-how could you possibly--"

"Call it a hunch, okay? I... look, Nia, I'm _sorry_. For being rough with you just now. As much as you wanna help, what they need right now is each other." Mythra sighed and hung her head a bit, pressing her fingers against the bridge of her nose. _Yep, gonna have to be super nice to Nia for a week now to make up for this, or Pyra’ll never let me hear the end of it_. "Can you help me get them into bed?"

"What? Together?" Nia looked skeptical, at best. Hard to blame her. She was most certainly still focused on treating Rex. "But--"

"Ignore the burn."

" _What_?"

"I said ignore the burn. I... it's hard to explain, but I've just got a _feeling_ about it, okay? And whatever you do, do _not_ separate them. I mean it."

"Alright, alright! I get it! I... you grab Pyra, and I'll get Rex?"

The both merely nodded in agreement. Lifting them was one thing, but maneuvering both of them into the same bed whilst also making _absolutely sure not to separate them_ had turned a normally simple task into an entire ordeal. But they had done it. Rex and Pyra were still firmly within one another's arms, and safely tucked away in bed.

And Nia looked positively bothered by it. Mythra noticed it rather easily. "You're still worried about his arm, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah... that easy ta read, eh?" Nia sighed, her ears flattening somewhat. "I ain't never seen anythin' like it. It's bad, Mythra. _Real_ bad. He... he _needs_ medical attention."

"Nia, do you trust me?"

"Wha-?" Nia looked positively taken aback. Some strange mix of confusion and offense at being asked if she even trusted Mythra. "Mythra, fer cryin’ out loud… Ain't it obvious? Of course I trust ya!"

"Then let them rest. They need it right now. Just... like I said, call it a hunch or something." Mythra made for the door and gestured to Nia to follow. "C'mon. We gotta get the others. They'll wanna hear about this."


	3. An Unexpected Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With all the companions more or less gathered, talks ensue about just what exactly happened to Rex and Pyra.
> 
> Mythra tries to avoid having a meltdown.

“Mythra, could you _please_ go over things one more time. Just so we’re all perfectly clear.”

She scowled. This was the _third_ time now that she was going to have to go over _everything_ in order to get everyone else up to speed -- it wasn’t her fault that they had staggered arrivals. First had been Dromarch, _of course_ , and both Nia and Mythra had shared joint duty in telling him about what happened. Then Mòrag and Brighid had arrived, and she had been left explaining that one alone as Nia hurried off to check on both Rex and Pyra for what felt like the tenth time in the past half hour. Now it was Zeke and Pandoria that had shown up, _‘fashionably late’ as Zeke likely would have put it_ , with no sign of Tora or Poppi. The nopon was evidently too busy in his workshop to attend, probably tied up with _Tiger! Tiger!_ or yet another Poppi upgrade. Mythra had found herself feeling just the slightest bit annoyed by that. _Oh yeah, sure, Rex and Pyra are both laid up in bed after undergoing a crazy ancient ritual but you’re too busy to attend and see if they’re okay. Yeah, no, I totally get it. Don’t sweat it._

Aunt Corinne had quite happily vacated the premises in order to give everyone some privacy. She had been spared a good portion of the details, like Rex having his arm _horrifically burned_ , but was simply told that there were important matters to discuss that needed to be done away from prying eyes. Now that everyone had been gathered around the table, it was a matter of telling the story _yet again_. “Zeke, I swear by my Father that you better listen up, ‘cause I’m not telling this damned story again.”

To his credit, Zeke was… unusually serious. “Worry not, Mythra! You have my undivided attention!” Pandoria tried to sell it with a thumbs-up of her own. It wasn’t helping terribly much.

“Mythra, if you would.” Mòrag had removed her hat and placed it upon her lap, her fingers laced together as she sat forward. The fact that she and Brighid had both arrived as quickly as they did spoke volumes of how both she and her brother viewed this.

 _Fine. Fine!_ The Aegis huffed and leaned back in her seat slightly. “So, Pyra came to me in my dreams the other night to ask me to talk, mostly so--”

“...Is that a dream Pyra, or actual Pyra?”

“ _Zeke I’ve barely even said anything, please shut up._ ”

“Right! Uh… continue.”

 _Father, remember when I asked you for strength to deal with Rex? I’m gonna need about double that here._ “Anyways, uh… I guess for context and all that, do you guys remember the talk that Nia brought up at the World Tree?”

“You mean the one about if we had ever wanted to extend our lives?” Brighid leaned forward a bit, placing a hand upon her chin. “If I recall, Pyra’s answer was surprisingly… fatalistic, for one as sweet and cheery as her.”

“Yeah, well… she’s been through a lot.”

“You both have.”

“That’s… ugh, that’s not the _point_ , Brighid, but _thank you_ for acknowledging that.” Mythra pinched the bridge of her nose. Yeah, this was gonna take a while. “So if the rest of you _don’t_ recall, my sister mentioned that maybe one day she’d like to be able to just… you know, kick the bucket with someone she loved by her side. Which is kinda difficult because she’s a _Blade_. Becoming a Flesh Eater was out of the question -- it’d still mean she’d be outliving the one she loved.”

Zeke folded his arms. “Rex.”

“Yep. She’s… Pyra can’t stand the idea of a life without him. I’ve tried to talk about it with her a few times, and the mere _thought_ of it almost has her in hysterics. Like ‘ _starting to sob please just hold me until it stops_ ’ levels of bad. It’s kinda rough to watch. And ever since Pyra and I returned from Elysium, and she and Rex fessed up and hooked up, she’s… been searching. In secret.”

“For a way to make herself mortal. A way to die.” Mòrag closed her eyes, her brow furrowing. “...I see. She feels that strongly for the boy, does she?”

“You don’t know the half of it, Mòrag. She’s kept this whole thing under wraps from both me _and_ Rex, because she was scared to death that we were gonna start worrying about it. Which is, ya know, totally reasonable when you find out that your own sister _is purposely trying to die_.” Mythra huffed and slumped in her seat, drawing a quick ‘ _please sit up straight when in front of guests_ ’ look from Brighid. She ignored it. “And wouldn’t ya know it, she found a way to pull it off.”

“How?” The Prince of Tantal was sitting forward now, elbows upon the table. Another look from Brighid. Another look ignored. “The only solution really left to her is for Rex to become a Blade Eater using her Core, but Indol and Amalthus are both gone.”

“Yeah, I know, and I said the same thing. Doesn’t seem like it matters, because she found a way _and_ went and did the damn thing with Rex. Said she scoured our memories and found it when going through what we had archived on Torna.”

“Torna?!” Zeke had stood up fast enough to very nearly send his chair flying across the room, only stopped in its path by Pandoria. “Mythra, did Pyra mention any names to you? Anything at all?”

“Uhh…” _Okay, definitely never seen this side of Zeke before._ “I mean… yeah? She said it was called ‘the Binding’ or something?”

He sat back down in stunned silence, then… slowly removed his eyepatch? And _wasn’t_ replacing it with anything else? And no dramatic flair either? “...Everyone, tell me. How much do you know of Torna before it disappeared beneath the Cloud Sea?”

No one really said much of anything, though that was most likely due to the group silence caused by _deathly serious Zeke_ and not a lack of knowledge.

“Right then. As most of you are no doubt already aware, the Tornans revered Blades -- both Blades themselves, as well as the cycle of life created by Blades and Titans alike. Such things already fill almost every single history book on the subject. What slipped through the cracks for most is that the Tornans were _so_ heavily devoted to Blades, that an entire theocracy began to form around them. It was isolated and never spread terribly far, but the _ideals_ created by it caught on with the people, and so they began to be spread throughout all of Torna.” Zeke leaned back, almost _too far_ to the point of tipping over, and folded his arms once again. “They devised all manner of ceremonies and rituals to show their dedication to the bond between humanity and Blades, but none were more important than ‘The Binding’.”

“Zeke, I _really_ appreciate th’ history lesson an’ all that, but would ya mind explainin’ how th’ hell ya know so much about all this?” Nia had returned at some point during the conversation, no doubt from checking on Rex and Pyra _yet again_.

“I’m Tantalese, Nia. We’re the descendants of Torna. If anyone’s going to know, it’d be us. And aren’t you curious what ‘The Binding’ _truly_ is?” Everyone nodded, including Mythra, who had been in on the whole thing _the entire time_. Seemed like she was still missing part of the picture. “Right then. The Binding was devised to be the final step in a chain of progression, to show the loyalty and devotion between Driver and Blade. There was nothing more one could do to prove their bond than to undertake such a ritual -- by utilizing the flow of ether in a rather ingenious way, one could even go so far as to _share_ their thoughts, feelings, and even memories, without having to speak a single word. The whole setup proved so popular that the clergy drastically simplified things so that anyone could do it.”

“And success allowed for the sharing of a Core Crystal, in much the same way as the Blade Eater procedure devised by Amalthus.” Mòrag tapped her chin in thought. “Fascinating.”

“Precisely. By following through with the ritual, a Blade could gift part of their Core to their Driver, thus guaranteeing that when the Driver died, so too would they. To the Tornans, there was no higher honor.” Zeke had leaned forward again, steeping his fingers in front of himself. “Though, Mythra, I… don’t think your sister was fully aware of the true history behind it.”

“What.” Mythra stared at him blankly. _Not… fully aware of the true history? What the hell did that mean_?

“Right, that’s a solid ‘no’ then. I… hm, how do I phrase this. The Binding wasn’t merely a way for a Driver and Blade to be well and truly bonded to one another. It had a more… civil component.”

Mòrag’s eyes had widened, and if one listened very closely, they would’ve sworn that they heard her gasp too. Whatever this ‘true history’ was, she had already figured it out, but Mythra was very much still in the dark. “Zeke, explain.”

The Prince chuckled and grinned. Oh no. Not a good sign. _Never_ a good sign. “Mythra, my dear, it’s a good thing you’re already sitting, because you’ll want to be after this next bit. I’m not sure how else to tell you this, but… your sister and Rex tied the knot.”

“What.”

“...they’re married, Mythra. Your sister and Rex are married.”

Stunned silence filled the room. Mòrag was fervently trying to hide her face by staring at the floor. Brighid simply sat with her hands upon her lap. Pandoria was doing her absolute best to try and stifle a squeal, and Dromarch looked positively perplexed. Both Nia and Mythra were currently struggling very, _very_ hard though. Nia was clutching the table, her claws beginning to dig into the wood itself, and Mythra… _Mythra_. The Aegis had very slowly, _veeeeery slowly_ stood up, her face steadily becoming more and more red.

Somewhere in the distance, a tea kettle was whistling.

“ _THEY WHAT?!”_

“I said they’re _married_ , Mythra. Holy matrimony and all that. I honestly doubt Pyra even _realized_ the true intent behind it, it’s more likely she would’ve been left a blushing mess the moment she even _considered_ it if she had.” Zeke was still grinning -- oh, he was _reveling_ in all of this. “To undergo the Binding was to reach the peak of intimacy within Tornan society, a level in which Driver and Blade were so comfortable with one another that they would bond themselves together eternally. It was, essentially, marriage.”

“M… married… my sister and Rex are…” Mythra braced herself upon the table, slowly lowering herself back down into her seat. “... _holy shit_.”

“Language,” purred Dromarch.

 _First thing he says all damn day and it’s to tell me to watch my mouth after finding out not even a minute ago that my sister is now MARRIED._ “S-so… uh, now what?”

“Now we wait, of course. They’re on the ‘honeymoon’ portion of things.” _Oh, bad choice of words, Zeke. Bad choice indeed._ Several individuals around the table were suddenly _very_ red in the face, and Mythra looked like she was about ready to slap him as hard as that boulder had hit him all those months ago. “N-not like that! I… what I meant was that the ceremony tends to utterly exhaust both parties, and it was tradition to leave them together to allow the ether link between them to stabilize. Which you… already seemed to have done, from the sounds of it, whether you even knew to or not. Bravo.”

“Nia?” Mòrag turned to the Gormotti. “You’ve been rather silent on the matter. Are you alright?”

“I’m… I’m fine, honest. It’s just a bit much ta take in all at once, ya know? I went from thinkin’ Rex and Pyra did some crazy ritual that mangled his arm ta findin’ out that th’ two of them are shacked up now.”

“It did _what_ to him?” The Special Inquisitor turned to shoot a glare at the Aegis. “Mythra, you never once mentioned this. Explain.”

“Ah… that.” _I honestly forgot to even mention that._ “So, uh, after everything was said and done, and Nia and I went to check on them, we found out that Rex’s arm was--”

“Burnt ta a crisp like overdone pan-fried tartari! I ain’t never seen anythin’ like it, and my healin’ powers didn’t do squat ta fix it.” She huffed a little, her ears flattening against her head. “Probably th’ first time in a long time that I felt so powerless ta help someone I cared about.”

Mòrag narrowed her eyes. “Mythra, do you happen to know _why_ Nia’s healing abilities wouldn’t work? It’s awfully unusual that she’d have no effect at all, given that her power is potent enough to even work on _Malos_.”

The Aegis sighed. “Right. That. So, when we first entered the room, there was… it was…” She had been at a loss for words then, and she was at a loss for words even now. “Okay, think of it like this. You know how ether is pretty much always in everything around us? It’s always a mixture of some sort? Air, electric, fire, water, ice, earth, light, and dark. Going into that room was… there _wasn’t_ a mixture. It was just nothing but pure, raw, fire ether. More than I’d ever seen, and more than what even an Aegis should be capable of. Pyra’s… well, _supposed_ to be weaker than me, given that she was originally a derivative of myself, but the amount of ether in that room was far in excess of what I or I think even _Pneuma_ could do.”

“So Nia’s powers were essentially smothered then, is what you’re saying.”

“Yeah. It’s no wonder that she couldn’t do anything to help, with how much fire ether was floating around the place. You could probably _swim_ in it, if you really tried it.”

Zeke was rather loudly tapping his foot by now. Either something was on his mind, or he was back to his usual, stupid self. “Ladies, if I may?”

 _Alright, it’s the first one then_ , Mythra mused to herself.

“I’ve been listening to you two describe Rex’s… _affliction_. What you speak of is not an injury or illness, but a gift!”

“A gift?!” Nia had bolted upright, and probably could’ve tossed the entire table if she truly felt like. “I looked at it myself! What Rex got are _deep_ burns, bad enough ta warrant amputation, dependin’ on who ya asked. How th’ bloody hell is that a ‘gift’?”

“The Tornans disagreed. ‘Blade’s Bite’, as they often called it. It was the residual scar left behind by undergoing the Binding, utterly unique between every single Driver and Blade -- it was thought to be the deepest innermost reflection of a Blade, and no two were ever alike, even amongst like-elements. It was also considered to be the ultimate testament of a Driver’s love and devotion for their Blade, and was viewed by Tornans as both incredibly respectable _and_ beautiful.”

“Beautifu-- a burn is a burn, ya dumb arse! That ain’t no measly scar, I can tell ya that much! How do ya think--”

Mythra coughed. “Nia, he’s fine. If anything, Rex actually thinks it looks kinda cool, which I mean… of _course_ he does.”

Nia turned in surprise. “Mythra, he hasn’t opened his eyes since that whole thing, so what makes ya think that--”

“I saw him last night, in my dreams. We talked for a bit. Him and Pyra are still totally over the moon with everything, so I tried not to bother them too much.” Dead silence yet again, as everyone around the table gave Mythra some very confused looks. _Ah, right. That. No one else knew about that. Ha ha. Of course they didn’t._ “Right, so uhh… before me and Pyra split and got our own bodies, we shared one. Which you all knew. But we also had our own little version of Elysium stashed away in our memories that we could just… visit whenever we slept. Ya know, from before the place was totally trashed and still pretty. It was always a chance for me and Pyra to spend time together and talk. Even _after_ what happened at the World Tree and us splitting into our own selves, we still managed to retain that.”

Mòrag leaned forward. “Go on.”

“...and last night, the very same night that they finished the Binding, Rex showed up.”

“I see. So suffice to say, you asked him how they were both doing, then?”

Mythra nodded. “Of course. Nia was freaking out about it earlier, so I kinda felt I owed it to her to ask.”

“And yet ya hadn’t mentioned anythin’ of it!”

“I was getting to it, Nia!” The Aegis folded her arms. “...It’s odd, though. In the dream, Rex’s arm wasn’t burned at all. It just kinda… sorta looked like he had been rummaging through some ash and soot or something. Just little black and grey swirls up to his elbow.”

Zeke leaned forward, Pandoria emulating his every move by this point. “Blade’s Bite. No doubt about it. Whenever Rex manages to fully recover, that’ll very likely be what he’s got. Did you happen to spy a Core Crystal on him at all?”

“Er, yeah. A little… diamond-shaped thing on his chest, about the same spot as when me and Pyra were both sharing part of our Core with him. Almost kinda looked like it was shaped like an ember.”

“Mhm, mhm. Everything sounds exactly as it should!” The Prince of Tantal leaned back _yet again_ \--if he kept this up, he was liable to snap the back right off, knowing his luck--and finally put his eyepatch back on. “Though I suppose we’ll all find out once our chum actually wakes up.”

There were a few footsteps nearby, and then a voice piped up.

“...Oh, hey everybody! Did I miss somethin’?”

Everyone else just about jumped out of their skin on the spot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the big party convo was fairly fun to do. If you're wondering how/why this updated so quickly, the first two chapters were pretty much ready to go while I waited on AO3 registration. This one didn't take long to hammer out.


	4. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex and Pyra find out what they've done.
> 
> Mythra struggles with the crushing reality of being an in-law.

Rex was currently… at a loss. Having almost everyone show up to check on him and Pyra had been a pleasant surprise, no doubt all of them summoned by Mythra and Nia, but their reactions certainly seemed _off_ \-- if he didn’t know any better, this would’ve been another one of those crazy illusions pulled off by the Architect. They at least _seemed_ real enough, but no one was really saying or _doing_ much of anything. They were just sorta… staring. It was sorta beginning to creep him out. “...uh, guys?”

As far as Mythra was concerned, they had all reached an unspoken agreement. So long as _none_ of them replied to Rex, they’d just… never have to address the elephant in the room. She was entirely happy with that outcome. She was _sure_ that Rex would eventually get weirded out a little too much and decide to leave. All they had to do was just… wait. In silence. Perpetually. Maybe for forever. _Probably_ forever.

Everyone seemed resolute though. Mythra was chewing on her lip to keep her own mouth shut, quickly glancing around the room to see if anyone was about to crack. Mòrag and Brighid weren’t a concern. Nia looked like she was suffering a little, but Dromarch would make sure she kept quiet. Pandoria was covering _her entire face_ , which… worked, and Zeke was--

Oh no. No no no no _no_ . Zeke was grinning. _Zeke was grinning_. Mythra’s eyes immediately widened in fear and she bolted up from her seat, trying to race across the room to shut that horrible maw of his that was steadily opening and--

“Chum! Good to see you up and about!”

Mythra skidded to a halt. _Shit. Shit shit SHIT. Zeke don’t do it, do NOT do it, Zeke I will personally see you dead if you do._ She was in full-on panic mode. Zeke absolutely _delighted_ in stuff like this, there was absolutely _no way_ he wasn’t going to enjoy himself in the process.

Rex tilted his head a bit. “Uh, hi Zeke. Everyone’s bein’ awful quiet today. Did you guys all hear about me and Pyra or somethin’?”

“Of course! Why, it was Mythra and Nia who told us, so of course we all _raced_ right on over to check up on you two!” Zeke stood up and covered a portion of his face, Pandoria quickly following suit. He was posing. Things were about to get _very bad_. “Say, by any chance, did you decide to drop by and check on your… _sister-in-law_?”

There were some uncomfortable coughs, a few slightly red faces, and Pandoria was now _actively squealing_. Rex simply blinked in confusion. “...Sister-in-law?”

Mythra made perhaps the strangest sound she had ever heard out of herself, very likely the strangest sound _anyone_ had ever heard out of her. It was little more than a quiet, pained gasp, more akin to a wheeze than anything else. “... _Zeeeeeeeeke._ ”

“Mythra, what’s wrong? And what’s Zeke talkin’ about, ‘sister-in-law’?” He was pretty sure he heard Mythra almost choke again as soon as he mentioned that last bit. “Actually, you know what? Lemme get you some water, yeah?”

“No. Stay.” The Aegis had thrown up a hand onto Rex’s shoulder and clamped on as if her life depended on it, though it might have been more accurate to say that Zeke’s did. “Just… please, Rex.”

“...uh, yeah, sure thing. You uh… feelin’ okay, Mythra?” She simply groaned back in response -- maybe it was just something she ate? _I’m sure she’ll be fine_. “Sooo… it’s um… good to see the rest of you? Are you guys just tired from traveling and that’s why no one’s sayin’ much?”

Mòrag bolted upright, seizing on the opportunity. “Y-yes! It’s just… _so_ far from Alba Cavanich. You know how it is, Rex.”

“I mean… sure. I never get to really see you and Niall much anymore. Or Brighid -- hi Brighid!”

“It’s… so very good to see you again, Rex.” She almost seemed to… grimace a bit. “I trust you’ve been treating Pyra well?”

“Of course! I mean, we’re datin’, aren’t we?” Brighid coughed rather loudly at that. Maybe there was some sort of illness going around? _Could always have Nia check on that, and speakin’ of…_ “Nia! Dromarch! Good to see you two again!”

The Gormotti and her Blade both seemed to shrink a couple inches for just a fraction of a second. “Er… yeah! Good ta… see ya too, Rex. Me and Dromarch were uh… pretty close by, and Mythra mentioned that ya lovebirds were gettin’ into some weird old ritual stuff, so I figured we’d stay near and see how things fared. How’s uh… yer arm, by the by?”

“Oh, this?” Rex lifted his right arm for the whole room to see -- sure enough, and as predicted by Zeke, no real burn marks at all. Instead, as described by Mythra, her Driver’s arm was littered in incredibly faint grey and black swirls, as if it were smoke. It almost looked as if it _shimmered_ , in the right light. “Totally fine! Mythra, um… mentioned that you were kinda freakin’ out about it, but it’s fine now. Pyra helped me out with it. Besides, looks kinda cool, doesn’t it?”

If Mythra weren’t currently doubled over from having to _exist_ in this current period of time, she would’ve done a fist pump.

“It’s a relief to see you up and about so quickly, Master Rex.” Dromarch gave a slight nod, not quite pushing the edge to the point of being a courteous bow. “Tell me, how is Missus Pyra doing?”

Mythra’s grip on his shoulder tightened, and Rex had to try and fight back a wince. “Uh… Missus?”

His misstep drew a sharp jab from Nia, and a quick correction from him. “My apologies, Master Rex. My lady and I have been terribly busy with attending to… the injuries of the local villagers! I’m merely tired, you see.”

“Ah. Er, right.” Rex squinted a bit at Dromarch. Things were very weird, indeed. “She’s… fine. Still asleep, last I checked, but I can always go wake her up if you want me to. I-- hold on.” He turned ever-so-slightly, and began to simply stare off into space.

Nia tilted her head. “...Rex? Reeex?”

Nope. No real response. Just Rex and his usual happy self, staring off into nothingness.

“Rex, c’mon now.” The Gormotti hopped up out of her seat and briskly walked towards Rex, waving her hands in front of his eyes and snapping her fingers. “Rex? Alrest to Rex!”

“...Eh?” Rex quickly shook his head, chuckling a bit. “Sorry, I was talkin’ to Pyra. Still gettin’ used to that whole ‘talk in your head’ thing too. She’s up and about, just give her a bit to get over here.”

There were footsteps down the hall, and everyone else sat with bated breath. A distant yawn… and then Pyra rounded the corner, giving a quick stretch and a wave. “Oh! Good morning, everyone! I… hope you all weren’t waiting on me or anything.”

Nia coughed, and Mythra slowly turned to face her sister. “Pyra, it’s afternoon.”

“Oh. I was asleep that long?” She tapped her chin in thought. “Hm. I guess I was just more tired than I thought I was.”

There was a faint chuckle, and if Mythra had whipped her head any harder, it very likely would’ve launched right off her neck and shoulders then and there. _ZEKE._

“Ah, at last! Pyra, the _blushing bride_ , makes her appearance!”

_ZEKE I’M GONNA KILL YOU, I SWEAR._

Pyra’s face very quickly turned almost as red as her hair. “B-bride?! I… what? No!”

“You and Rex performed the Binding, did you not?”

“W-well… yes. I’m assuming Mythra mentioned it to you by name?”

Zeke nodded. “As a matter of fact, she did. And me being Tantalese, I know a surprising amount about it! Tell me, Pyra… were there any _circles_ that you had to transcribe upon the floor?”

She blinked in surprise a bit. “Er… yes, actually. The book I consulted mentioned that it had to be done with--”

“Dawn Hydrangea petals.”

“Yes! Though I… couldn’t find any real reason for it within the book at all. Would you happen to know anything about it, Zeke?”

The Prince grinned. _Again._ And was posing. _Again_ . Here it was, the culmination of all of his work for today, and he could practically _feel_ Mythra’s dread. “I actually do, Pyra. You see, those circles are purely ceremonial, though the choice of flower is _quite_ intentional. I _am_ quite curious now, though. Did you… happen to flip through any more pages at all within that book of yours?”

“Uh, not really.”

“No? Not even a little?”

“I mean… everything needed for the actual ritual was right on the first two pages, so I didn’t see much need to read further.”

“My, my… you really should check these things more often. It seems you don’t even realize what you’ve done to you and your darling Rex!”

“...I was sure I checked everything! What did I miss, Zeke? I… I didn’t hurt Rex or anything, did I?!”

“Oh no, nothing quite so severe.” Zeke had a foot up upon the table to strike a pose, drawing his second stare from Brighid for the day. “You’ve merely bound the two of you together for all eternity!”

Pyra blinked. “I mean… _yes_ , that was the intent.”

Pandoria wagged a finger, giggling faintly. “He means in more ways than one.”

“I… what?” She quickly glanced around the room, taking note of how… _unusually quiet_ everyone was. “Pandoria, what are you talking about?”

“It means you tied the knot! You’re _married_ , Pyra! _To Rex_!”

Pyra and Rex both stared blankly ahead, then looked at one another.

He blinked.

She blinked.

And then the moment of realization from both of them.

“W-WE’RE _WHAT_?!”

Mythra dropped to the floor, out like a light.


	5. Wake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The newlyweds come to terms with being newlywed.
> 
> Mythra enjoys a nice nap and a bout of revenge.

_Well, this is turning into a right proper mess_.

Rex and Pyra were both flustered messes and sitting upon the floor, their faces completely covered. Mythra had _also_ collapsed, though ‘crumpled’ might have been a more accurate term -- Nia figured that all of the news had maybe been a _bit_ much for the poor girl, and had knocked her out cold.

 _Right, we’ll blame Zeke fer this one_. Yep, solid plan. That’d be totally fine with her. “Dromarch, a little help here?” Nia had no real issues with _picking up_ Mythra, but moving her longer distances like ‘down the hallway to a bed’ was a bit out of her league.

“Of course, my lady.” The tiger nudged himself underneath Mythra’s limp body, and with a bit of guidance from Nia, managed to get her upon his back. “I shall see to it that Miss Mythra makes it to her bed.”

“Please do, Dromarch. I gotta take care of th’ rest of these knuckleheads.” He merely purred a response and trudged off down the hallway, Mythra gently bouncing on his back with each one of his steps. She’d be fine. Eventually. Probably just needed time to take everything in. “Now then, _Zeke_. Ya gonna make me beat yer arse over that little stunt of yers?”

“Nia, please!” Zeke was leaning back in his seat somewhat, likely to try and build distance between him and Nia -- not like it’d help much if Nia _truly_ wanted to fight him. “There’s no need for such hostility! I was merely helping our dear friends sort out the truth of the matter!”

Mòrag tutted from her own seat. “It certainly could’ve been handled better, Zeke. Perhaps more tact next time? Though, I suppose now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag… Brighid?”

“Yes, Lady Mòrag?”

“Please make a mental note to arrange for the order and delivery of a gift appropriate for the happy couple.”

“As you wish. Lady Mòrag, might I recommend flowers or cookware?”

The Inquisitor closed her eyes, tilting her head somewhat. “Hm. An excellent idea. Though I suppose we’ll have to ask the newlyweds what they might want once they’ve managed to calm down.” To that end, Rex and Pyra _did_ look like they were beginning to settle down -- they were both still rather red in the face, but they were now actively holding hands and cozying up to one another. An improvement on one front, though with Mythra completely knocked out, they were still at net-zero. “Zeke.”

The Prince startled a bit, quickly glancing over at Mòrag. “Uh, yeah?”

“What else do you know of this ‘Binding’ that Rex and Pyra participated in?”

“I told you essentially all that I know.” Zeke shrugged. “There’s little else even documented about it, save what Tantal knows. After all, this was something last done 500 years ago -- Rex and Pyra are the very first instance of it in any sort of recent history. If there’s anything _else_ that they’re now capable of, it’ll be up to them to figure it out.”

Off to his side, Nia growled a bit. “I still ought ta kick yer arse. I went from treatin’ Rex and Pyra ta makin’ sure that Mythra’s not _concussed_. Hope yer happy, Shellhead.”

“Eh, I got the reaction I was hoping for.”

Pandoria faintly giggled. “Yeah, but Mythra’s totally gonna whoop you when she gets up.”

“...Yeaaaaah. I suppose you’re right about that, Pandy.”

The Gormotti rolled her eyes and walked over to Rex and Pyra’s spot upon the floor, crouching down to put herself on their level. “Heeey. Ya guys good? Feelin’ better and all that?”

There were a few mumbles, and then a quiet response.

Nia frowned a bit. “I uh… didn’t quite catch that.”

“Cookware.”

“...Eh?”

Pyra hopped to her feet, pulling Rex up with her. He just kinda… went along for the ride. “Cookware. Mòrag and Brighid were wondering what to get for us, so… cookware. I think I’ve started to wear some of the pots and pans out, and I almost broke a rolling pin the other day.”

“Well, both of ya look awfully calm and collected now for two folks who found out not even five minutes ago that they were suddenly married. You lot process it _that_ quickly?” Nia couldn’t help but be mildly impressed. “I mean I knew Rex got over stuff rather fast, but this is kinda ridiculous, even fer him.”

“Yes, well…” Pyra sighed, and observant eyes would’ve noticed her giving Rex’s hand a little squeeze. “Rex and I talked it over -- within our heads, I mean. I… I forgot to mention that, didn’t I?”

“Nah, Rex got it before ya came down.”

“Ah, great! Right, so… I mean I’d be lying if there wasn’t _some_ panicked screaming, but at the same time, I _did_ ask him to undertake a ritual to ‘mortalize’ me so that we could live out the rest of our lives together. So I suppose in a way, marriage would’ve been inevitable. Not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’.”

Mòrag nodded. “A fair point, Pyra. Though I don’t think we’ve yet heard Rex’s take on matters.”

Rex--salvager, Master Driver of the Aegis, and now _husband_ to an Aegis--simply scratched at the back of his head. “Kinda scary, at first, to have all that happen in one go. But now it’s… nice. I mean, I get to call Pyra my _wife_ now. Crazy, right?”

Not surprisingly, Pyra immediately blushed upon being referred to as her Driver’s wife. “R-Rex!”

“See? I think Pyra _is_ kinda bummed though. That it all happened this way, I mean. She’s talked about it before.”

Brighid stammered a bit. “Y-you mean… talked about marriage?”

“Of course! I mean, with everything the two of us went through, it kinda felt like it’d eventually happen, just like Pyra said. Though I’m pretty sure she wanted something more… traditional.”

“Traditional?”

“Yeah! Like in a church or somethin’, with all of our friends and family there for it, and a big ol’ cake. Knowin’ Pyra though, she’d probably wanna _make_ the cake.”

The Aegis brightened up a bit at the mention of that. “Oh, hey! You’re right!”

“You could use the new cookware for it too.” Brighid leaned forward a bit, grinning. “And there’s nothing to really stop you two from going through with another ceremony.”

Mòrag had a grin of her own now. “An excellent point. Myself and Brighid would be honored to take you shopping for a proper wedding dress the next time you’re in Alba Cavanich.”

Another blush from Pyra. It was getting difficult to tell if the warmth was from her element or her face. “O-oh, that… that sounds _lovely_ you two, thank you!”

Zeke pushed out his seat from underneath himself, posing triumphantly. “And I could throw our chum a bachelor party!”

The Special Inquisitor glared, _actually glared_ , at the Prince for such a statement. “No, Zeke, I don’t think that will be necessary. In any case, Rex is technically already married -- performing another wedding is merely a formality.”

Pandoria gave Zeke’s shoulder a light punch. “Pretty sure Pyra would kill you too. Or Mythra would, anyways.”

Zeke sputtered at his own Blade. “Hey, whose side are you on?!”

“ _Mine._ ” All eyes turned towards the voice. There in the doorway, clutching the wall hard enough to actually _crack_ the plaster, was Mythra. “ZEKE! YOU’RE A DEAD MAN!”

She bounded across the room with frightening speed and agility, leaping across the table at him. He could scarcely get out a panicked ‘ _M-MYTHRA, WAIT’_ and ‘ _PANDY!’_ before being wrestled to the ground by her. Now the poor sap was stuck in a headlock by _the Aegis_ , taking several punches to the ribs while being continually insulted by Mythra and her extensive vocabulary of colorful language.

Nia was _finally_ getting some enjoyment out of the day, at least. As Dromarch strolled up beside her, she looked down at him. “I thought ya were watchin’ her?”

Her Blade shook his head. “I’m terribly sorry, my lady, but I could not stop Miss Mythra once she was on her warpath.”

“Dromarch, I’m guessin’ it’s more like ya didn’t want ta stop her.”

“Would _you_ want to get in her way?” He caught sight of his Driver grimacing rather hard -- no, getting in Mythra’s way when she was out for blood did _not_ sound like a terribly good idea. “I thought as much.”

“Shut it, Dromarch.”

“...of course, my lady.”

Through the din of Mythra relentlessly pummeling Zeke, Rex only now noticed that they were down two party members. “Hey, where’s Tora and Poppi?”

Nia huffed. “Th’ dolt said he was busy and couldn’t make it. Probably more _Tiger! Tiger!_ nonsense, or another Poppi upgrade.”

“Ah. Well that’s kind of a shame, but it’s okay!”

“Rex. He _literally_ missed out on the both of ya gettin’ married. I mean, not intentionally married or nothin’. But th’ point still stands.”

“It’s fine! He can just make the next one!”

She groaned. _You and yer endless optimism, Rex, I swear._

Pyra peered over at the brawl her sister was embroiled in. “Should we… maybe stop them? I don’t want Zeke to get hurt.”

The Prince’s own Blade merely shrugged. “Nah, he’ll be fine. He was kinda overdue anyways. By the way, congratulations!”

“Oh, thank you, Pandoria!” She gave her Driver’s-- _husband’s_ \--hand a reflexive squeeze. “Say, Rex… should I maybe get started on something to eat for everyone? Since we just about have everyone visiting already. It seems like an opportune time.”

Rex vigorously nodded. He was hungry anyways, though he certainly wouldn’t admit to it. “Oh, yeah! That sounds great! If we whip up some tasty sausages too, we can rub it in Tora’s face. Maybe it’ll get him out of his house next time.”

Pyra giggled in response. “Maybe. How’s acqua pazza sound?”

“Can’t wait! Do you want me to help out? I mean, I think it’d be nice, given... ya know...”

“As if you have to ask anymore! Besides, I think it’ll be good to get away from the others for a bit. Mythra’s gonna need time to… wind down anyways.”

The newlyweds skulked away to the kitchen to begin their meal plans, and Zeke’s cries for mercy became little more than a distant sound. Occasionally, someone would stop by to pitch in or check on the two of them.

A shame that no one was around to see how Rex had managed to light the fires in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day, because I hate my life.


	6. Restless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex's transformation into a Blade Eater weighs heavily on Zeke's mind.
> 
> Mythra finally enjoys some peace and quiet.

Zeke couldn’t sleep.

It wasn’t the aches and pains from Mythra’s beat down, or the mild bruising that had resulted from it -- Nia had already largely taken care of healing him, though he had certainly gotten an earful from her throughout. And it certainly didn’t seem like it was because he was trying to sleep in a relatively strange place, though ‘relative’ only went so far when it was merely a place he had stayed months and months ago.

No, instead his mind kept drifting back to earlier. To the Binding. To Rex and Pyra. More specifically, to Rex. He was a Blade Eater again, a feat that _shouldn’t_ have been possible without involvement from Indol, and yet they had done it. Zeke couldn’t help but feel that in the midst of the news of Rex and Pyra’s sudden marriage, everyone had simply glossed over that fact.

That Rex was a Blade Eater.

That was… big news. Very big. Arguably bigger than the Driver of the Aegis getting hitched to one of his own Blades. To know that a ritual from old Torna was both still very much real _and_ also worked had almost felt like a second wind -- if that one ritual had worked, there was nothing to say that the others also wouldn’t. As of now, Tantal had a very real possibility at getting a good portion of its history back. And yet, in a way, it had also felt like a punch to the gut. To suddenly learn such information from his close friends, and turn around and use it for his peoples’ benefit felt… selfish. Incredibly so. He had an obligation to his people as their future king to do anything he could to bring them back to their former glory… but there was also the obligation he felt to his very own comrades and friends.

Zeke couldn’t sleep, and so he rolled out of bed and went for a walk.

The halls were incredibly quiet, what with it being the dead of night, and he winced with every creaking floorboard beneath his feet. He heard no other movements though, so at the very least, he knew he wasn’t waking anyone up. Through the kitchen windows, he could sometimes catch a glimpse of a flare of orange, and a… faint roar?

_Is that… fire?_

He picked up his pace somewhat, approaching the front door and slowly turning the knob to peek out. There, in the middle of the yard in front of the house, were Rex and Pyra. Pyra was seated upon a bale of hay, idly watching Rex… practice? In the middle of the night? There was another burst of orange, a gout of flame shooting out across the open air. Practicing in the middle of the night certainly seemed odd, but it wasn’t _terribly_ odd to see Driver and Blade practicing their Arts alongside one another, and--

_Wait a second._

Pyra hadn’t moved from her spot at all. Hadn’t budged. Yet still, fireballs and cones of flame kept darting out across the landscape. How was she even performing Arts _without moving_? There were first times for everything, of course -- she was an Aegis. It was well within the realm of possibility that she could do something like that. And yet, she had never done so before. Why would now suddenly be different?

And then he realized. _Rex_.

Pyra wasn’t doing it. It was Rex. _Rex_ was the one wielding flame ether like that. It… wasn’t terribly unreasonable, he supposed. His own status as a Blade Eater meant that he could use a portion of Pandoria’s power as well, augmenting and drastically improving his own speed and reflexes -- he hadn’t earned the nickname ‘Thunderbolt Zeke’ for nothing, after all. But Rex and Pyra had scarcely been bonded like this for a few days, and already Rex had managed such an impressive degree of control over his newfound abilities. His interest thoroughly piqued by now, Zeke pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped out onto the porch, shutting it behind himself and making his way over. “...Bit late for practice, eh chums?”

“Oh, Zeke!” Pyra quickly turned to face him, giving him a short wave and a smile. “We… didn’t wake you up or anything, did we? Rex gets a little too involved with it sometimes.”

“No, no. I simply couldn’t sleep, is all. Your sister has quite the left hook, you know.”

“No personal experience there, but… so I’ve heard.” She made a quick note of his appearance. “I’ll admit, it’s strange to see you without the contacts or eyepatch.”

Zeke gave a dismissive wave of the hand. “I may be a vain man, Pyra, but I’m not about to go putting on all of that just for a late night stroll. In any case, what are you two doing out here?”

“Same as you. Neither of us could sleep, and Rex is still trying to get a handle on ether manipulation, so I figured we could linger out here for a bit and he could get some practice in. It means we’re spending time together, and it _should_ eventually tire him out enough for sleep.”

“Still… trying to get a handle on it?” Zeke blinked a bit at her before turning to watch Rex go through his own motions. “You two have maybe only been bonded for a few days now, and the level of control he already has is… incredible. You’re saying there’s still more for him to learn?”

“Yes! Rex has always been quick on the draw though -- he picked up on something immediately that had taken Vandham quite a while to learn himself.” Pyra smiled a bit as another arc of flame flew through the air. “I always found it somewhat odd that he could never do this before, but I suppose he wasn’t a true Blade Eater back then either. We were… certainly a unique case.”

“Yes, I suppose you were.” He cleared his throat and sat up a bit, glancing back over at her. “Pyra, I have a question for you.”

“Oh?”

“I’d like you to put yourself in my shoes for just a moment. I… have a bit of a conundrum, and you seem the perfect sort to help me out with it.”

“I’m… guessing this is why you couldn’t sleep, then?”

Zeke nodded. “Suppose you… had friends who suddenly found out that a piece of your country’s history was still relevant. Logically, one could assume that if that one bit were like that, then all the others would be too. Would you… consider it _wrong_ to take that knowledge and try to give it back to the people of your land?”

“You’re referring to me and Rex, aren’t you?” She tilted her head somewhat, arching a brow as she eyed him. “And the Binding.”

“Er, yes. I am.” He sighed and lowered his head somewhat. “Pyra, I don’t think anyone else truly realizes how big of a deal this is. You know, Rex just _becoming_ a Blade Eater again, and with essentially no outside interference. You two merely followed a book and achieved what should have been impossible.”  
  
“And you want to take knowledge of it back to Tantal.”  
  
A nod. “This is a portion of Torna’s, and by extension, Tantal’s history that we had simply chalked up to being legends. Sure, we knew _of_ them, but we had no idea they would even still work, nor was anyone exactly willing to give it a go themselves. And if the Binding worked…”  
  
“...there’s no telling what other rites from old Torna also work.”  
  
“Precisely.”

Pyra frowned a bit and placed a hand on her chest. “So why ask me, Zeke?”

“Because, Pyra.” Another gout of flame, forcing Zeke to close his eyes somewhat. _That’s bloody bright._ “I feel as if I’m between a rock and a hard place. I owe it to my people to bring this knowledge back to them, yet at the same time, this was something that you and Rex discovered. I’d essentially be profiting off something the two of you put yourselves through at great risk. It simply doesn’t feel right.”

“And you’re… wanting to know if we’re okay with that?”

“Indeed.”

“Kind of a silly question, you know.” She giggled a bit as another fireball coursed through the air in front of her. “We don’t care, Zeke. You’re our _friend_. If this is as important to you and the people of Tantal as you say it is, we’re not going to stop you or anything. Besides, Rex and I did it for selfish reasons anyways. If anything, you’ve got the more noble reason for it.”

“I… see. Right then.” The Prince immediately straightened back up, watching Rex continue to move about the open area -- even if he kept going at this pace, he showed absolutely no signs of slowing down. They were likely to be out here for a while if the goal was to just get Rex tired enough for sleep again. “My… father is stepping down soon, you know.”

Pyra immediately sat up and turned to face him. “What? Really? ...Why?”

“I believe that would be yours and Rex’s doing. The two of you helped him see that our old ways simply aren’t fit for the new era we’re now living in, which means he’s stepping down, and… I’m stepping up to the throne.” He sighed and rubbed at his face a bit. “It’s had me thinking about all sorts of kingly matters, such as… well, this.”

“That’s… quite the step up for you, Zeke. Does that mean no more adventuring for you?”

“I can likely appoint an administrative assistant of some sort to keep things running if I’m ever away. Though, truth be told, I never really saw myself as the ruling type. Politics are always messy. Just not my thing.”

“Mm, I think you’ll do just fine. You always did have a good heart, Zeke. The head on your shoulders though, maybe less so at times.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “I’ll take the compliment when I can get one. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Pyra.”

“Of course!” Pyra looked back across the way towards Rex and gave a quick shout. “Don’t hold back, Rex! I’m still doing fine!”

That alone drew a look from Zeke -- Rex was clearly manipulating the ether link between him and Pyra, using it to control the very flames that had often been at her command. Yet despite the extent to which he was using those abilities, she… didn’t seem tired in the slightest. “I must say, Pyra, the ether link between you and Rex is quite… peculiar.”

“Oh, that?” She simply shrugged, hands upon her lap as she watched fire erupt from Rex’s every move. “I don’t know what it was with the ritual, but ever since, I’ve almost felt like I’ve got this… boundless source of energy. Rex can just keep pulling and pulling on the link between us, and it’s as if it can’t even begin to deplete it. I think it’s kind of incredible.”

“...It really is.” Zeke couldn’t help but be in awe a little bit. Rex had been a rather fearsome fighter in his own right during their journey to Elysium, but _now_? He seemed absolutely relentless, borderline unstoppable. The Prince of Tantal couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit sorry for the next individual to have the misfortune of thinking they could take him down. And all of this was while Rex was seemingly still getting a grip on his abilities, which meant he wasn’t even close to being at full strength. “Truly remarkable. Do you… think everyone would be capable of this? If they all underwent the Binding as you two did?”

Pyra paused, tapping her chin in thought. “I’m… honestly not sure. I feel like part of this is just me being an Aegis, and that’s what allows Rex to tap so deeply into the ether without any real consequences. But I mean otherwise, I see no reason that it wouldn’t. Why?”

Zeke’s mind went back to those kingly thoughts of his. Rex had essentially become a titan unto himself on the battlefield just by performing the Binding with Pyra, which was itself a rather basic and simple ritual to perform. If he took this back to Tantal and made knowledge of it common, he’d have a veritable army of super soldiers -- that would spark an arms race, causing Uraya and Mor Ardain to scramble and try to replicate the ritual themselves, and all of that could easily topple the newfound peace that they all enjoyed. Such a scenario, quite frankly, frightened him. Perhaps… selective knowledge might be better. He sighed and stood up, ready to take his leave. “No reason. Thank you for the talk, Pyra. You’ve… truly been a tremendous help. I’ll see you two in the morning, yes?”

“Of course! I’ll try to have breakfast ready for everyone by then. Have a good night, Zeke!”

“Good night, Pyra. And you as well, Rex.” Zeke gave a quick wave over to the Driver, who abruptly stopped to give a wave of his own in return before resuming his practice. “Try not to stay out too late!”

The Prince, soon to be King, made his way back inside the home and wandered back towards his bed. Maybe it was simply for the best if Tantal didn’t recover all of its history after all.


	7. Always the Bridesmaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mythra has a chat.

He hadn’t been asleep terribly long when he felt that familiar prodding, urging him to slip away from his own dreams and to join her own. It wasn’t Pyra, though.

It was Mythra.

He was fairly certain he knew what this was about -- they hadn’t really gotten the chance to truly talk one-on-one since him and Pyra had completed the ritual that now bound them to one another, and poor Mythra _had_ been hit with a great deal of news all at once. The least he could do was answer her summons. There was a bit of straining as he focused on the ‘idea’ of Mythra, a strange pulling and twisting sensation, and then a subtle ‘pop’ as he appeared within Elysium. It… _seemed_ like the very same one that he was now capable of sharing with both Pyra _and_ Mythra, but this one had seemingly been sequestered away, meaning there was no real chance of Pyra stumbling into the middle of their conversation. Probably for the best, that way. He did a quick look around to get his bearings, and then spotting Mythra underneath that ever-beloved tree, made his way up the hill towards her.

She was reclining rather comfortably beneath it, hands and arms behind her head as she leaned against it, feet kicked out in front of her and almost dangling off the cliff. “Hey Rex.”

He hesitated for the briefest of moments. “H-Hey. I uh… heard you calling for me?”

“Mm. Right. I wanted to chat, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all! I uh… look, I’m sorry about all the news that got dumped on you earlier, I know that’s a _lot_ to try and process, and--”

“It’s fine.”

Rex stopped and blinked. “W-wha? It’s _fine_?”

“Yeah. I took most of it out on Zeke, and the rest of the time was me just kinda trying to _understand_ everything. It’s… not every day that you go from the status quo to a suddenly mortal _and_ married sister.” Mythra sighed, laughing ever so faintly towards the end of it. “Not to mention picking up a brother-in-law. Besides, I… think if anything, I should be the one apologizing.”

“Mythra?”

She huffed, extending an arm and hand out in front of herself, as if she was checking her own nails or something. “I was… being _less than honest_ the other day, when I dragged you into my room. Ya know, the bit where I was asking if you’d ever hurt Pyra or anything like that? I knew full-well what it was she was trying to do, and it didn’t really feel right for _me_ to be the one to bring it up, soooo…”

“So you just didn’t mention it?” Rex chuckled and took a seat beside her, quickly dragging a hand through the grass -- it may have just been a dream, but it always felt real enough. “It’s fine, Mythra. Honest. I mean, you’re right that it was probably best that Pyra tell me about all of it.”

“Mm, yeah. Probably.”

“Are you… still, you know, worried about me and Pyra? Like worried that I might hurt her or something?”

“Rex, please.” Mythra sat upright, leaning forward somewhat to give her shoulders a break. “I’ve been around you just as long as my sister has. I know that you’re practically physically incapable of hurting someone you care about. It’s just not _in_ you. But, ya know… to hear crazy plans like that from someone like Pyra is usually enough to make you start to worry. About her maybe getting in over her head, or going through with the crazy bind-you-forever-to-this-other-person ritual, and then have you go through a… change of heart or something.”

“Mythra…”

“Yeah, I know, it’s crazy talk. Sorry for ever thinking you’d possibly do something like that. That’s… selling you short. Like, by a _lot_. You’re…” She let out a deep sigh, slumping her shoulders somewhat before picking them back up as she turned to face him. “You’re a good person, Rex. _Really_ good, to the point of being a rarity. I can’t recall ever meeting anyone else in all of Alrest that was as… warm, caring, and trusting as you. Or, Father, as _optimistic_ \-- you’re _infectiously_ optimistic, you know that? Me and Pyra were both wanting to go and ask Father to let us die, and then you showed up and helped us see that maybe this whole ‘living’ thing wasn’t so bad. It’s not every day you meet someone like that, let alone get to call them your Driver. Or your friend. Or… I guess brother-in-law.”

“Mythra! You’re gonna make me blush!” He had already started to get more than a little red in the face, and was doing his best to contain his own grin. It wasn’t terribly often that someone got such praise heaped on them by _Mythra_ , of all people.

“Yeah, well… you deserve it. Really.” Mythra was _smiling_ now--another rarity--and had settled back into her resting position from earlier, leaning against the tree once more. “I’m… happy for you both. _Especially_ because it’s you two.”

Rex had his own sly grin now, giving Mythra a playful nudge in the side. “Someone’s being a lil’ biased.”

“Ehh, just a little bit. How’s the married life been treating you?”

That… was a very good question. How _had_ the married life been treating him? It almost felt a little unreal to even _think_ about it like that, really -- he could still scarcely believe at times that it had even happened. But, it sure _felt_ like it had happened, and his relationship with Pyra had changed in ways he couldn’t have even begun to imagine since they had undergone that fateful ritual. She looked more beautiful now than she ever had, always so _warm_ and full of love and life, and the way _she_ looked at _him_ now made his heart sing so many different songs that he didn’t know he was even aware of. She had done nothing but look at him with the utmost adoration since their sudden marriage, each of her movements filled with the very same gentleness and grace that he had grown to love all those months ago, and it made him so very… _happy_. Merely being in her presence left him unbelievably happy, and feeling like he was capable of anything if she were simply there at his side.

“Rex? You still there?”

“Eh?” He suddenly snapped back to attention, quickly rubbing at the back of his neck as he tried to hide his own embarrassment -- he had gotten so caught up in thinking about Pyra, that he had simply… forgotten to even answer Mythra. “It’s uh… it’s been something.”

“That so?” She simply grinned and laughed, kicking her feet up. “Not gonna lie, pretty damned cute to see you this head-over-heels for Pyra.”

“Mythra!”

“What? You were staring off into space and making that same face that you make when Pyra’s in the room and talking to you. I notice these things, okay?”

Rex simply huffed and shook his head. He was trying to pretend to be irritated with Mythra. Trying. They both knew it was impossible for him to _actually_ feel like that towards her.

Mythra spoke up again, quieter this time. “She feels the same way, you know. Every time you’re in the room with her, she just seems to… _brighten up_ so much. She smiles more, she laughs more, she just gets so much more carefree and carries herself like it. It’s… good to see something like that out of her, given everything that she’s been put through.”

“Yeah… yeah it is.” He turned to look at her this time, placing a hand on her shoulder. “How about you, though?”

She blinked. “What about me?”

“The marriage thing. Me and Pyra being married. How are you handling it?” He chuckled a bit, shaking his head slightly. “You skipped over it pretty fast earlier.”

“Eh, yeah, I guess I did.” She had a leg propped up on her knee by this point, gently bouncing her foot along with some unknown rhythm of hers. “It’s been… strange, really. I mean there was ‘Pyra telling me about her crazy ancient ritual to bind the two of you and give herself mortality’ strange, and then there’s ‘By the way the crazy ancient ritual is also a marriage ceremony’ _strange_. It’s a lot to take in all in one go. I was never _against_ the ritual or anything either -- I’ve always been more than happy to support Pyra in everything she does, even if that includes giving up her immortality because she loves a certain someone _so damned much_.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here, Mythra.”

“...But, finding out in one fell swoop that you and Pyra were suddenly married, and finding that out from _Zeke_ no less? That’s rough. I… probably didn’t handle it as well as I should have.”

“You broke part of the wall and _also_ broke part of Zeke.”

Mythra waved her hand dismissively. “Nia fixed it, it’s fine.”

“Mythra…”

“It’s fine! I’m over it now. Really.” She smirked, clenching a hand into a fist, as if to make her point. “Beating the snot out of Zeke certainly helped with that.”

“You can’t just go beating up people just because they, erm… could’ve handled some things better. Even if it’s Zeke.”

“I mean, he _did_ sorta deserve it…”

"Mythra."

“Fine, fine. Just don’t make me regret this whole ‘in-laws’ thing.” Mythra had already shut her eyes and was wagging a finger at him. She was joking. Mostly. Maybe.

Rex merely rolled his eyes and leaned against the tree right beside her. “Mythra, there was something else I’ve been meaning to ask you about. I uh… think you might’ve still been out from the news earlier when it was brought up.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Well, it’s the whole marriage thing, actually.” She turned to stare at him, causing him to very quickly begin to shake his hands in front of himself. “N-not trying to back out or anything, don’t worry!”

“Mm. So what is it?”

“Well, given that me and Pyra didn’t even _know_ that the Binding was a marriage ceremony itself, Pyra actually seemed a little… bummed out. Mostly ‘cause she now feels like she missed out on an _actual_ wedding.”

“You mean like the storybook ones, with the big ol’ cakes and everything?”

“Y-yeah, actually. How’d you know?”

Mythra smiled faintly, gently knocking a fist against his leg. “Pyra always was a bookworm. Being able to open one up and just… read and kinda be able to escape everything else was good for her. So, it’s only natural that she’d fixate on the stories with the happy endings, and of the hero who saved the girl, and them riding off into the sunset together. It kept her optimistic during some of the rougher patches. It’s… gonna sound sorta weird, but her being able to just _be mortal_ , and be able to grow old with and pass away alongside someone she loved was pretty much always her idea of a fairytale ending. Her very own happily-ever-after. Not really surprising that she’d want the wedding to go with it.”

“Er, well, if you already know about it… you wanna be the maid of honor?”

She turned to squint at him, raising a brow. “Isn’t that something for _Pyra_ to pick?”

Rex couldn’t help but laugh at that. “As if she’s gonna pick anyone _but_ you, Mythra.”

“...Fair point. So, what, you want me in the wedding too?”

“Well… _yeah_. You’re Pyra’s sister, and you’re just as important to me too. It’d be pretty rude to not include you.” He grinned a bit, leaning over to tap her on the shoulder. “Besides… there’s gonna be cake.”

“...Mm. And?”

“And I’ll make sure that Pyra gets you some Cloud Sea crab sticks to go with it.”

Mythra sat up once more, turning with a grin of her own. “You said the magic words. When are you two planning this wedding anyways?”

He paused, scowling a bit. “We… actually haven’t discussed it at all, yet. Just that we’d like to do it.”

“Mm. Alright. Guessing that gives some time for her to pick out a dress for it?”

“...Mòrag and Brighid both already offered to take her shopping in Mor Ardain.”

“Damn, she’s getting those two in on it? Kinda want to tag along now.” She laughed faintly, leaning back to look up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the tree. “I guess that goes without saying though. I’m her sister, I’ll be in on something like that.”

“I’m sure she was going to invite you anyways. And besides…” Rex was grinning again, with that knowing look of his own. “...if you’re gonna be Pyra’s maid of honor, you’ll need a dress too.”

Mythra simply continued to stare up at the tree, folding her arms and huffing. “...Shit.”

“It’ll be fine!”

“...Hmph. Hurry on back to your own dreams -- I can practically hear Pyra calling for you.”

“Ah, right! See ya Mythra, thanks for talking!”

There was a brief burst of ether, and Rex suddenly _poofed_ out of existence. Mythra merely groaned and rubbed at her forehead.

Dress shopping. _Great_.


	8. Bloodlines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex is presented an early wedding gift by Mòrag and Zeke.
> 
> Mythra learns something new about her Driver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you don't mind headcanon names because whoop whoop we're naming Rex's parents.
> 
> Timeskips please save me.

_Rex,_

_Please meet me within Alba Cavanich at your earliest convenience. If desired, you may align this meeting with your own planned trip for the reaffirmation of yours and Pyra’s vows. You may wish to bring Mythra as well, as I’m sure the topic of discussion will prove to be of interest to her._

_Sincerely,_

_Special Inquisitor Mòrag Ladair of Mor Ardain_

Quickly rolling up the letter and tossing it into a nearby pack, she flopped onto the bed underneath her. “Sheesh, she never drops the formalities, does she?”

Rex simply chuckled and shook his head. “Not in all the time I’ve known her, Mythra.”

“Figures. You think she ever lightens up at all?”

A few more clothes flew past her head, sailing directly into an open traveling pack, and Pyra’s head quickly peeked up as she surveyed the bedroom. “I’m sure she does. Just… maybe not all that often. She _does_ take her job pretty seriously.”

“Yeah, well maybe she ought to ease up more often.” Mythra simply groaned and sat upright from her place on the bed, watching both Rex and Pyra finish their own packing. “You guys almost done? I didn’t think it’d take that long to just throw some things into a bag.”

“Mythra, the wedding’s coming up, remember? Odds are we won’t be back home until after it’s over, so I’m just making sure I have everything I’ll need.” She frowned somewhat, even as she eyed her sister. “I wish you’d take this a little more seriously.”

“You two are already married, aren’t you?”

A huff. “That’s not the point, and you know it.”

“Pyra, I _am_ taking it seriously. I’ve already got all of my essentials packed away.”

Their Driver sighed and shook his head, content to simply stay within his own little world while he let the two sisters sort things out. It was hard to believe that it’d already been several months since he and Pyra had undergone the ritual that had left the two of them permanently bound to one another -- and married. It had certainly taken some adjusting, not just on his part but on everyone else’s, and there were still _some_ details that were purposely left out from certain individuals, namely his Aunt Corinne. She needn’t know just yet that they were _actually_ married, but had instead been told that they were engaged and that the future wedding within Alba Cavanich was the actual ceremony. Lying to her had been a necessary evil. Probably best that she didn’t know the truth.

Still, they had a few days worth of travel ahead of them, from Fonsett to Mor Ardain itself. Asking Azurda was out of the question -- the Titan certainly didn’t deserve to be contacted simply to ferry the three of them to another country, and ships were often faster. At the very least, he _had_ been invited to the second wedding, something which he had quite happily accepted, as well as telling both Rex and Pyra in a rather teasing voice that he hadn’t been the slightest bit surprised by the news.

He stuffed a few more changes of clothes within his pack and strung it up tight, standing up and hefting it onto his back. “Ready when you two are.”

“I’ve _been_ ready, Rex. Mostly been waiting on you two.” Mythra flashed him a grin and hopped off of the bed, grabbing her own belongings and slipping the straps over her shoulders. She was traveling much lighter than he would have expected, if he was being totally honest with himself. “I’m headed down to the dock. Don’t be late, ‘kay?”

“Yeah, got it Mythra. See ya down there.” She merely waved and immediately headed out, and it wasn’t too much longer until one could hear the sound of the front door opening and subsequently closing. With a sigh, he walked over towards his wife, idly watching her finish her own preparations. “Need help with any of that, Pyra?”

The redhead paused, tapping a finger to her lips as she seemed to think things over. “Mm, no, I… think I have just about everything.”

“Great! You ready to get going, then?”

“I think so, yes.” She hopped to her feet not long after, closing her own pack and beginning to reach for it, only to have it snatched away from her. “Rex, I can carry my own bag…”

“I know you can, I’m just… trying to help.”

“Awfully sweet of you, but I can handle it.” With a grin, Pyra took it right back from him, giving his nose a playful poke in the process. “Though there _is_ something else you can help me with.”

Rex blinked at her a bit, tilting his head. “What do you need?”

“A kiss, for... reassurance?”

“Oh, that so? You already getting the jitters?”

She felt herself blush a bit, glancing away for the briefest of moments. “A bit. It’s strange, isn’t it? We’re already married but here I am, getting nervous over a second wedding that’s largely just ceremonial.”

“Nah, seems natural enough to me.” He didn’t even bother to wait for a response from her, and instead leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the cheeks -- at some point in the interim, he had _finally_ hit his growth spurt, and was now at the same height as she was. “Better?”

Pyra nodded, picking up her own bag and slipping a hand into his. “Much. I’m ready when you are, and… don’t forget to lock the house this time.”

“Yeah, got the keys right here. Best not to keep Mythra waiting either.”

That drew a laugh from her, even as he was leading her towards the door. “Certainly not.”

“Well, I guess next stop, Mor Ardain!”

 

* * *

 

The trip had largely been uneventful, aside from a brief bit of turbulence that had left Mythra looking surprisingly green -- a quick glare from her had told him that he was not to discuss this with anyone else. Mythra having weak sea legs was certainly an amusing thought, but no doubt one that she didn’t want becoming common knowledge. A secret, then.

Their arrival at Alba Cavanich had brought out a full contingent of guards to see them along, as well as Mòrag herself, who had been all too happy to greet old friends. It had been far too many months since she had last seen them, after all, but things had certainly kept her busy. Still, she had arranged for them to stay at Hardhaigh Palace, as it was the least that she could do for the Master Driver and the Aegises, not to mention her own personal ties to them. She’d never dream of having them stay elsewhere in the city, in some simple inn where they might be endlessly harassed by others.

Still, there was business to attend to, something she reminded them all of upon mentioning the letter she had sent. They had been given time enough to drop off their belongings at the room they’d be staying in, but otherwise they were quickly lead away to whatever it was the Special Inquisitor had in mind for them. All of it lead to a rather grand looking set of double doors, and upon heading inside, Rex was somewhat surprised to see how starkly the inside contrasted with the outside.

He was pretty sure this was a war room of some sort. Or a meeting room. Or a war… meeting… room? Whatever it may have normally been, it had been very quickly repurposed by Mòrag, with many of the old charts and the like carefully set aside on another table. The main table, however, had already been covered with what looked like a highly elaborate chart. Zeke gave a small wave from the opposite side, smiling as he watched the trio enter the room. “Good to see you again, chum. And you two as well, Pyra, Mythra.”

Rex nodded in kind, even as Mòrag gestured towards a seat for him, even as both Aegises sat down beside their Driver. “Likewise, Zeke. No Pandoria today?”

“Afraid not. She’s out and about with Brighid at the moment, running some errands on Mòrag’s part.”

“Errands?”

The Special Inquisitor smiled faintly, eyeing both Rex and Pyra. “Scouting shops for something befitting a wedding.”

“Ohhh.” Rex grinned, glancing to either side of himself so as to give both Pyra and Mythra quick looks. Both of them seemed to be blushing faintly, though Mythra was certainly trying harder to hide it. “You excited, Mythra?”

The blonde turned towards him, rolling her eyes. “ _Thrilled_.”

He would have laughed at that, but Mòrag clapped to draw their attention. “Sorry to interrupt, but there _are_ things that myself and Zeke would like to discuss with you three. More specifically Rex, but both Aegises are still involved.”

Zeke gave her a quick look, squinting a bit. _Ahh, back to formalities. You never miss a beat, do you?_ A brief shake of his head, and he was ready for his own part, giving a wide sweep of his arm to the chart before all of them. “We’ve been working on something a little _special_ for you, chum. This had always been planned as a wedding present of sorts for you, but certain… _events_ sped up the time table a bit. Not pointing fingers or anything.”

Totally pointing fingers. Both Rex and Pyra laughed faintly before the Prince continued his explanation.

“What you see before you is a family tree -- more specifically, _Rex’s_ family tree. Took quite a bit of work to put together, but when you’ve got both Tantal _and_ Mor Ardain trying to put together a special something for the kid that saved the world, it’s worth the effort.”

Rex blinked a bit, still trying to take in what he was seeing. “So this is… all _me_? _My_ family?”

“That’s right. Your actual family, bloodlines and all. We did make some rather _interesting_ discoveries in the process. For example!” Zeke broke out one of this trademark dramatic poses, covering part of his face with a hand and peering at Rex through his fingers. “Did you know, chum, that we are in fact… _cousins_?”

“Wait, what?! Really?” Rex stared a bit, tilting his head as he squinted. “...You’re serious?”

“Rex, my boy, I’m _always_ serious! Well, it’s more like we’re not _really_ cousins, as we’re so incredibly distantly related to the point that we might as well not be… but! We _are_ still technically cousins!” He dropped his hands and assumed a more ‘normal’ pose, simply placing his hands on his hips. “My mother was Ardainian, just like your father. It’s through them that we’re apparently related.”

“...my dad was Ardainian?”

“Indeed! I would’ve figured the first name would’ve tipped you off, but I suppose without the full picture, it would be difficult to pin. Look here.” Zeke leaned over the table somewhat, tapping a name. “Aodhàn Tulach, about Ardainian a name as they come.”

The Master Driver was standing now, hands on the table as he peered down at the chart. “So… my last name then is ‘Tulach’?”

“I mean, sure, but ‘Rex Tulach’ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Ardainian names rarely do.” Mòrag shot him a look, but Zeke promptly ignored it. “And of course, connected right to him, is your mother.”

“...Karyna Tulach.” Rex’s expression softened as he stared at the text, gently placing his hand upon it. “My mum was Leftherian, then.”

“Right you are, chum. I mean, you had to get the features from _somewhere_ , right?”

“I… I guess.”

Pyra stood as well to take a place alongside Rex, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You doing alright?”

He glanced over at her, giving her a smile. “Yeah, it’s just… a lot to take in, I guess. After going basically my entire life without knowing much at all about them.”

From her own seat, Mythra quietly chuckled. “Gotta admit, ‘Rex Tulach’ _is_ kinda dorky-sounding.”

The redhead shot her own sister a glare, wanting to chastise her on the spot _so_ very much. “Mythra! This is Rex we’re talking about!”

“Yeah, I know. I think I’m allowed to poke fun at him for it, though.”

“Mythra, _please_? This is serious.”

“Ugh, fine.” She waved her hand dismissively and folded her arms, returning to simply looking at the vast family tree in front of herself. _Still sounds dorky_.

There was a quiet cough, and all eyes turned to Mòrag, who was looking about as serious as she always did. “I know this is quite a bit to reveal all at once to you, Rex, but there _is_ still a great deal more to discuss, particularly the single biggest discovery we made. Much as Zeke would try and tell you otherwise, the item in question is _not_ that you and he are related, though that was nonetheless a happy surprise.”

Rex peered at her, trying to figure out what she was getting at. “I’m guessing the ‘big discovery’ is why you wanted me to make sure to bring Pyra and Mythra along?”

“Indeed. While going back through all of the centuries and tracing back the links of your lineage, we found something rather… surprising, and incredible. We double-checked it, triple-checked even, and the results were conclusive, each and every time.” The Special Inquisitor placed a finger down upon Rex’s spot on the chart, slowly tracing it up and along the branching paths of his family tree. “If you were to go back through the generations and centuries, your bloodline can be directly traced to the Hero of Torna, Addam Origo. In short, you are a direct descendant of his, and as far as we can tell, the _only_ living direct descendant.”

The silence within the room quickly proved to be deafening, as Rex, Pyra, _and_ Mythra were all staring at Mòrag. They had always _suspected_ , sure -- Rex bore more than a passing resemblance to Addam, of course, and had acted in so many ways that had already reminded them of him. But to hear _actual_ confirmation was something else entirely. The trio were all looking back and forth between one another, none of them seemingly able to say much of anything in response. Mythra was the first to speak, stammering out a quiet, “...S-seriously?”

Mòrag nodded. “We’re absolutely serious, Mythra. Rex is, indeed, directly related to Addam. It’s why we wanted both of you in attendance, after all.”

“R-right. Um… wow.” She had already slumped down in her seat a bit, one hand on her forehead, no doubt still trying to accept that latest bombshell.

It was Rex’s turn next, leaning forward in his seat somewhat as he quirked a brow at her. “Why bring this up, Mòrag?”

The Special Inquisitor sighed. “We… have our reasons, Rex, and I’m sorry to say that they’re not entirely altruistic. Zeke, if you would be so kind as to explain.”

Zeke blinked at her a bit, seemingly caught off-guard, yet quickly recovered. “Oh, _fine_. I didn’t want to have to be the one to do this, but… Rex, you have to believe us when we say that the whole ‘family tree’ thing _was_ originally meant to just be a simple wedding gift, from us to you. Discovering that you’re _actually_ directly related to Addam certainly threw a wrench in things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Chum, the Leftherian Archipelago went up a whole hell of a lot on the importance list for a lot of folks after you brought down Malos. When you’ve got the Hero of Alrest and _two_ Aegises living in the same place, it’s bound to attract some attention. There’s no doubt a few greasy politicians already eyeing the place up, wanting to make a move on it, and to an extent, wanting to make a move on the Aegises as well. They’re legendary for a reason.”

Pyra gently tapped on the table to draw Zeke’s attention. “And what does that have to do with any of this? With Rex’s family history?”

Zeke scowled a bit. “Because there may come a time in which Rex will be called on to lead the Leftherian people, if only to protect them from outside ‘interests’. Mòrag and I can certainly _try_ to keep Mor Ardain and Tantal in check, but we can only do so much. There’s always going to be someone trying to get a leg up on everyone else, no matter the cost. But, if the Leftherian Archipelago were to become an actual sovereign nation, rather than a conglomeration of islands…”

Rex was looking back down at his own family tree, but almost anyone could have made out the soured look on his face. “If it were a nation with an actual leader, maybe… maybe some would give it up?”

Mòrag nodded. “Precisely. Should the Archipelago become a nation proper, I feel most politicians would give up on any aspirations they had for the islands, particularly if the leader of said nation were an immensely popular folk hero.”

He looked up at her, hands clasping together as he sat on the edge of his seat. “And where does my connection to Addam figure into this?”

“Addam was royalty, Rex. By being directly related to him, you are also essentially of royal blood, and… somewhat amusingly, you have a stronger claim to Tantal’s throne than perhaps anyone else. However, I know you well enough to know that you’d never try and usurp Zeke or anything of that nature.” She briefly chewed on her lip a bit, eyeing him. “You’re in a somewhat unique position, sad as it may be to say. In losing your parents at the age that you did, you have no real association with any one particular family name. Being Addam’s sole direct descendant, you _could_ claim his surname for yourself.”

“...meaning I would be ‘Rex Origo’.”

“Indeed. Given Addam’s own status as a legendary hero, as well as his being royalty, taking the Origo name could allow you to consolidate power and prevent others from disputing your claim of being the Archipelago’s leader. After all, I doubt anyone would be truly willing to try and challenge the Hero of Alrest who is _also_ the heir to the Hero of Torna’s name and legacy… aside from those who are truly mad.”

Zeke placed his hand upon the table with an audible _thud_ , drawing looks. “Of course, chum, all of this is dealing with hypotheticals. It’s assuming there _does_ end up being a need for someone to lead the Leftherian Archipelago, and also assumes you take the Origo family name. There’s nothing really stopping you from taking on the Tulach name that your mother and father had.”

“And it’s not as if you need to make a decision now, Rex. There’s still plenty of time for you to think it over.” Mòrag finally allowed herself the opportunity to relax a little, smiling at him as he looked at her. “But when you _do_ come to a decision, please let me know. I believe I can pull a few strings to expedite the paperwork necessary to make all of it official. There’s nothing further than Zeke and I need to discuss with you, so you three are free to go.”

Mythra had already gotten out of her seat and was headed for the door, still clearly try to come to terms with the revelation that the only two Drivers she had ever had were both related -- Pyra didn’t seem terribly far behind her, though she was lagging a bit, if only to try and wait for Rex. He himself had already stood up, but still remained at the table, staring at the chart in front of himself. There was… quite a bit on his mind, it seemed, and he eventually spoke up, in a surprisingly soft voice. “Mòrag?”

“Yes, Rex?” The Special Inquisitor had paused midstep, but had already given him her undivided attention.

“Would I be able to stop by later and ask some more questions about just… all of this? Mostly my parents, but… there’s just so much I don’t know still. So much I _want_ know about.”

“But of course, Rex. My door is always open to you.” She smiled a bit, giving him a slight bow. “By all means, enjoy the rest of your time in Alba Cavanich. I’ve already instructed all of the royal guards to allow you, Pyra, and Mythra free access to any place on the palace grounds, including the kitchen. I know it’ll be of importance in a few days.” Mòrag gave him a rather uncharacteristic wink, her smile growing ever-so-slightly wider. He’d have to thank her privately later for that, perhaps at the wedding itself.

“Thanks.” It was his turn to smile, and he briefly pushed his thoughts aside to allow for it. “I really appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. Run along now, your wife is waiting for you.”

He turned to look, and sure enough, Pyra was standing at the door, smiling as she watched him. Surely he couldn’t just leave her standing there, could he? Collecting himself, he quickly made his way over to her, slipping his hand into hers and walking with her out into the palace proper.

Despite everything that had been shown to him just a few minutes ago, it all could wait.

Right now, she was the only thing that mattered.


	9. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the big day fast approaching, Rex and Pyra do their utmost to get things ready.
> 
> Mythra has a fashion crisis.

“Well?”

“...I don’t know.”

“It’s a good look for you. And this _is_ possibly the third or fourth shop we’ve stopped in today.”

“I mean, sure, but… do you think he’d like it?”

There was a sigh intermingled with a faint laugh, coming from none other than Mòrag herself. “Never did I even begin to suspect that _Mythra_ would be the one to struggle for a dress for a wedding that’s not even her own.”

The Aegis in question quickly did an about-face to give a glare. “There’s nothing wrong with me wanting to look my best for my sister’s big day! And besides, Rex is important to me too.”

“I see, I see! Well, you truly continue to surprise me.” The Special Inquisitor motioned broadly, both to the woman before her as well as to the dress in question. “Now then… your decision?”

From her own spot on the sidelines, Pyra was certain the two of them were still bickering over something for her sister to wear. Mòrag had offered countless concessions, and _still_ Mythra couldn’t find something she truly liked. It… was admittedly rather amusing that she, the actual bride of the wedding in question, had found something to wear much, _much_ faster than her maid of honor. She was simply thankful that her own choice of wedding dress was very much ‘her’, with a bit of Rex thrown into the mix as well — after all, she could hardly turn down an offer from Aunt Corinne to wear what had been _her_ wedding dress. Leftherian clothing was delightfully modest in design, yet still retained enough visual hallmarks to be distinct from any others, and it also helped that Pyra _had_ fallen in love with the place and the people as well. There were a few minor adjustments to be made, of course, but Corinne had been dead-set on dying the dress with a bit of red to give it that extra bit of ‘flair’ befitting an Aegis, especially one who was soon to be wedded to someone who had been her own foster son.

Well, ‘officially’ wedded, at least.

There was a soft noise of discontent beside her, and Pyra turned to look at her sister-in-arms during these trying times of ‘Mythra trying on things yet liking none of them’. “Brighid?”

“Is your sister always like this?” The Jewel of Mor Ardain certainly made no attempts to hide her displeasure at how _long_ things had been taking. “I can certainly relate to wanting to look your very best for your Driver, but the _indecisiveness_ is going to be the death of me.”

“Yes, well… when Mythra’s set on something, she’s pretty much set on it, and nothing’s going to change her mind. Knowing her, she’s probably got this mental image of a perfect dress in her head, and she’s just trying to get something close to it.” Pyra grinned a bit, tilting her head somewhat and lightly drumming her fingers upon her legs. “Or she’s just doing it to mess with you two. It’s hard to tell sometimes.”

“Pyra.”

“Hm?”

“Surely if Mythra wished to antagonize Lady Mòrag and myself, there’d be better ways to go about it.”

“Well, sure. But she’s always cautious about overdoing it and upsetting people, so she tries to keep it to some of the more mundane things. Besides, I think she’s being especially careful with you in particular — she _does_ think of you as a friend, after all.”

If Brighid’s eyes were open, she very likely would’ve blinked in surprise. “...A friend? Me?”

“Of course! Mythra’s always been a bit on the lonely side to begin with, and she’s pretty much known you the longest out of everyone else she’s ever met. I think being friends would only be natural, don’t you think?”

“I... suppose, though it _does_ seem a bit preposterous that she’d wish to associate with me. From what I gather of things, my past self that she knew in Torna was… not exactly kind to her.”

“I mean, maybe so. But the past ‘you’ isn’t who you are _now_ , and I think Mythra’s trying to make amends for how _she_ acted back then too.” A quick look back towards her sister and the Special Inquisitor revealed that they had since gone through another two dresses in the time since she and Brighid had begun their discussion.

“A fair point. I could invite her over to the royal gardens for lunch one day, then, while the three of you are staying with us.” She hummed a bit as she seemed to think it over, eventually giving a curt nod. “...yes, I think I’ll do just that. Perhaps it’ll serve as a necessary distraction for her while you and Rex go on your honeymoon, hm?”

The mention of a honeymoon, as well as the fair amount of implications that came with it, quickly left Pyra no longer in the mood to talk as she instead stewed in her own thoughts and desperately fought to keep her own blush to a minimum. That, in and of itself, would have to serve as a personal victory to Brighid, if Mythra was going to continue to so soundly defeat them at dress shopping.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder how things were faring with the rest of the preparations…

 

* * *

 

To the shock of just about everyone else, himself included, things were going surprisingly well. The venue had been prepared, with Emperor Niall gladly setting aside the palace’s gardens for their tiny ceremony, and all that truly remained was just food and mild decorations. ‘Tiny’ certainly described things well — news of the Master Driver marrying one of the Aegises no doubt would have brought entirely too much attention, and so they had very purposely kept the invite list extremely small, limiting it solely to close friends and family. Perhaps the lone exception to the ‘tiny’ portion of things would have been Azurda, though the palace staff had certainly been working hard to clear an area large enough for the Titan to land at so he could watch the proceedings.

The decorations had been left firmly in Zeke and Pandora’s debatably capable hands, which meant that food was currently on Nia, Dromarch, and himself. Not once had Rex ever given the slightest hint that he was a capable cook, much to the Gormotti’s surprise. It seemed as if he’d been holding out on her all this time.

“Nia, sugar?”

“Got it!”

A bit of sugar sailed through the air and into a waiting measuring cup, with nary a grain spilled. They had been fortunate that their affinity with one another had been as strong as it was now. One could pass an ingredient to the other without either of them having to take their eyes off their current task, and Rex was a rather good teacher to boot. She certainly had no idea he had _this_ many recipes memorized, nor did she realize how many of these had originally been Pyra’s handiwork and were subsequently repurposed by him.

A pair of large paws thumped onto the counter, and Dromarch leaned up to peer at the current goings-on. “Master Rex, shall I check on the meats you prepared earlier?”

“Ooh, that’d be great! We’re not gonna need the crab ‘til wedding day though. I promised Mythra she’d get crab sticks and crab cakes, so gotta make sure those are fresh as can be.”

The tiger simply nodded and trotted off in the direction of the cellar the palace used for cold storage, leaving Rex and Nia by themselves. It was rare enough for the two of them to get any time together these days, and she was surely going to seize on it with a bit of light teasing. “So, Rex… I had no idea Mythra had ya wrapped around her finger so much. I mean, promising her foods at her _sister’s_ wedding?”

He shot her a quick look, his hands still rather busy with the mixing bowl in front of himself. “I dunno if I’d word it like that. I mean, yeah, she’s Pyra’s sister, but she’s still important to me too. Just felt nice to offer, is all.”

“Eh, that’s _so_ very much like ya.” She was admittedly somewhat thankful that Rex had left all of the less technical work for her — all she was doing right now was simply grinding up bread crumbs for some of the future fried foods. “Guessin’ ya already got somethin’ fer the big day?”

“Mhm! A bunch of the folks from Fonsett got together and got me some clothes for it. Something a little more ‘traditional’. Corinne says it’s not unlike what I wore before I got into salvaging, and that it should match up with what Pyra’s gonna be wearing too.”

“Ooh, ‘villager Rex’! That’ll be a new look fer sure! I’ve only ever gotten to see ya in a whole _two_ different outfits anyways. Though, that’s got me curious now…” She set down the rolling pin if only for a moment, just to turn and properly look at him. “I never knew ya could cook. When’d that happen?”

“Well, I’ve always been able to, really.” Though there was still plenty of mixing to be done, he still turned to face her as well. It was only polite, after all. “I mean I lived on my own for a while, remember? Off Azurda’s back and all that. It was mostly simpler stuff, but I picked up a lot along the way too.”

“Then how come ya never cooked fer any of us?”

“Pyra was with us by then, and she’s easily a better cook than me.”

“Sure, but can’t really compare ya two when I’ve never had anything from ya before, now can I?”

“Nia, if you wanna try my cooking _that_ badly, you’ll get your chance soon enough. Most everything being made for the wedding is being done by me, after all. Or I guess ‘us’.” There was the soft clatter of the bowl upon the counter as he set it down, quickly covering it with a piece of cloth and setting it aside. Now seemed like a decent time for a break anyways. “Pyra’s gonna be helping here and there too, but she’s been tied up with her own stuff.”

“Well, I _guess_ I can wait a bit longer to try yer food. I uh… got another question though, if ya don’t mind me askin’.”

He quickly tossed a towel her way for her to clean her hands with, already wiping his own off as he eyed her. “Shoot.”

“What’s the married life been like anyways? Like… knowin’ that yer _that_ close to someone else.”

“It’s been… hrm. It’s kinda hard to say, really. In a lot of ways, it doesn’t really feel any different than it normally did? We still say and do a lot of the same things we’ve always done, except the titles are changed up a bit, what with… spouses and all that. Not a whole lot’s really changed from our daily lives.”

“That so?”

Rex leaned over a bit, giving her a look and a grin. “...Why? Someone catch your eye or something?”

“W-what?! No! Nothin’ of the sort!” Nia was certainly doing her best to hide her own embarrassment, though her frantically twitching ears gave that away easily enough. “It’s just… I dunno. I think about it sometimes. Just the whole ‘bein’ with someone else’ thing. Havin’ someone else around with ya, livin’ yer lives together. Things like that.”

“Hm.” It didn’t seem as if she was necessarily looking for a _relationship_ or anything, but rather, it simply sounded as if she was… lonely. Much of her life had just been her and Dromarch, after all, with no one else really around with them, and now that their adventure had ended, everyone was spread out once more. She had largely stayed within Gormott, which made sense — it boasted the largest concentration of Gormotti anywhere else in the world. It was her best shot at feeling as if she fit in somewhere, but… “Nia, you’ve got your own place in Torigoth, yeah?”

“I mean, sure. Just a lil’ place I’ve been rentin’ out fer a while now with the coin we got from savin’ the world and all that. Ain’t nothin’ special though.”

He folded his arms, leaning against the counter. “You don’t get many visitors, do you?”

“Nah.” She sighed, her ears flattening somewhat as she tried to busy her hands with the fabric of her own outfit. “Everyone’s so damned busy these days. We only even got together like we did last time ‘cause it was a bit of an emergency, what with you and Pyra goin’ off and doin’ crazy rituals together.”

“It was just the one ritual.”

“Point still stands, Rex. We only got together ‘cause somethin’ _forced_ us together. So, no, I don’t really get any visitors. It… ends up getting pretty quiet a lot of times. Seems folks aren’t totally over the ‘Flesh Eater’ thing either.”

“You still getting looks?” Rex huffed, tightening his own grip on his arms somewhat. “I thought people would’ve gotten over that by now, what with Indol being gone and _you_ being part of the group that saved Alrest.”

“You’d think so, sure, but… old habits die hard, I suppose. You guys are still the only ones I really feel comfortable bein’ my ‘true’ self around.” She’d already taken a few tentative steps towards him, tilting her head a bit as her ears idly twitched. “What’re ya up to anyways? Askin’ me all these questions about where I live and what not.”

He tapped a finger to his chin as he mulled it over. It wasn’t as if he had ‘official’ approval to tell her what he was about to offer, and what he _was_ about to offer wasn’t exactly small either. But… he felt it was something she deserved, given all that she had been through, and it did break his heart more than a little bit to know that she was struggling to find somewhere she truly belonged. And if he needed to do it with his own bare hands, he would. “How about you move to Fonsett?”

Unsurprisingly, she balked. “I… what?”

“You and Dromarch move to Fonsett. Me, Pyra, and Mythra are already there. You’ve already met Aunt Corinne, all the kids loved you, and everyone _else_ seemed to really appreciate you, Flesh Eater or not. I dunno... seems like the perfect fit.” Rex shrugged a bit, picking up a whisk and twirling it about between his fingers. “Just talking with you now, you just seem… like you’re having a hard time fitting in or something. I know it’s mostly just been you and Dromarch for most of your life. Sounds sorta isolated, if you ask me. Lonely, even.”

The kitchen quickly settled into silence, apart from the noise of the ovens in the background, and Rex had very nearly begun to worry that he had maybe offended her when she spoke up again. “...yeah, it _does_ get awfully lonely. I mean, I’ve got Dromarch with me, of course, but… still starts to get bothersome when ya don’t really see anyone else. Like cabin fever, almost. And… it’s a lovely offer, Rex, but where would we even _go?_ I mean, you lot are on an island, so I know space is at a premium. Can’t exactly go askin’ someone else to move out and make room either.”

“I’ll build you a place myself, if I have to. I don’t think it’d be hard getting the tools or materials, and I’m sure some of the other folks around the village wouldn’t mind lending me a hand either.”

“Okay, fine, sure. But what about gettin’ the land for it? Ya can’t exactly just go grabbin’ whatever.”

To that, he grinned a bit. “So, about that…”

Dromarch wasn’t quite sure what it was he came back to as he returned to the kitchen, but Nia’s mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide enough that it surely must’ve been something big. What she said certainly sold it as well.

“Shut up! Yer kiddin’! _You?_ ”

The tiger merely gave her a perplexed look. “Er, my lady? I checked on things for Master Rex, as instructed, but… are you alright?”

Her ears were twitching again, but she merely gave her companion a pat on the head and a quick ruffle of his fur, all whilst a smile continued to grow larger and larger upon her face. “Dromarch, I hope yer not too attached to Torigoth.”

“...m-my lady? I’m not sure I follow.” He instead turned towards Rex, giving him an inquisitive look. “Master Rex, do you know what she’s referring to?”

Rex simply scratched at a cheek, still grinning. “I guess you could say I know a thing or two about it.”

With how vague these two were being, Dromarch was certain they were planning something… he just didn’t know what. And after all of this time with Nia, it was somewhat expected by now.

At least he had the meal in a few days to look forward to.


	10. Never the Bride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big day finally arrives for Rex and Pyra.
> 
> Mythra doesn't have enough tissues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, here we are. Finally at the end. First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for sticking through this, despite my own sporadic update schedule. Secondly, I also wanted to apologize — this ending likely isn't the best that I could have managed, but I also realized not terribly long ago that I should have ended this fic a while back. It was my second ever here on AO3, and I've simply lost all my steam and motivation for it. I'm so, so ready for it to be done and over with so I can move on to other projects.
> 
> If you still enjoy the ending in spite of all of that, then thank you again. I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

“Nervous?”

“Eh.”

“Rex.”

“What?”

 _“Rex._ C’mon now. _”_

“Alright, yeah, fine! I’m nervous!”

Just a few scant minutes remained until the ceremony began, and already, he could practically feel his heart in his throat.  It felt more than a little ridiculous, really — this was just a formality, after all. _Technically_ , he was already married, though to be fair, that had been done in relative privacy with just him and Pyra in actual attendance. So something like this was… well, fluff. It served no real purpose aside from being little more than a mock wedding for those who hadn’t heard the news the first time around.

That didn’t stop him from feeling quite possibly the most anxious he had ever felt in his entire life. He had died before, fought countless monsters and men, even prevented the very end of the world itself, and yet none of it had prepared him for _marriage_. If he had been just the slightest bit more religious, he was liable to pray on the spot for guidance, but—

 _Wait, wasn’t the Architect supposed to be Pyra’s dad? Should I have asked him for his blessing when we met? No, no, that’s crazy talk, we weren’t even dating yet. We didn’t even know we’d take things this far. But… maybe I should have asked anyways, just to play it safe? But then_ that _would’ve looked really odd. Agh, titan’s foot!_

“Rex, chum. Easy there. You’re getting a bit loopy.”

“Eh? Sorry, Zeke.”

“No need for that now, only natural for you to be getting jittery like this. It’s a big day, after all.”

“Mm.” Rex’s response amounted to little more than a slightly annoyed hum as he looked himself over in the mirror before him — the others from Fonsett had provided him with something a little more befitting someone from their sleepy little village, and he now wore little more than a tunic and some light pants. It _did_ feel quite a bit more liberating than the salvager’s outfit he typically wore, and it was liable to be quite the shock for the others. It was… fully possible they had never seen him in any other sort of attire. Still, that was neither here nor there. His focus was on what was just minutes away. “Just feeling sort of silly, I guess.”

“Over what? Sure, it’s not a _real_ wedding, but… I know I’d probably be a right nervous wreck if I were in your shoes.” A slap to the back nearly sent Rex bowling over, but Zeke knew his own strength well enough. “C’mon, talk to me. I’ll even put on my _Eye of Sympathy_.”

“Zeke, I can already tell you made that up on the spot.”

“Doing my best here, Rex. C’mon now, hit me with it.”

“Sure, sure. Just trying to wrap my head around things still, I guess. Me and Pyra have already been together a while now, but it hasn’t really been official ‘til now, and… I guess things are finally starting to settle in.” He sighed, straightening out a wrinkle as he gave another look to his appearance for probably the umpteenth time. “Just… you know. _Being married_.”

“It’s a big step to make, that’s for damned sure. But I think you’ll do just fine.”

“Appreciate the vote of confidence, Zeke.” A few quick bounces in place, as he tried to work some of the stress out of himself. “Pandoria gonna need tissues or something? She always seemed the emotional type.”

The Zekenator merely chuckled in response, wagging a finger. “Though you may simply be trying to tease, I assure you that Pandy has brought along _ample_ tissues. Boxes, really. Girl just about bawled her eyes out when you and Pyra first broke the news about being a couple, can’t imagine how she’ll handle a bonafide _wedding_.”

“You mean, poorly?”

“Sure, yeah. She’ll probably burn through all the boxes and then some.” He quickly snapped his fingers as a thought sprang to mind, turning to Rex with a grin upon his face. “Nearly forgot! You happen to decide what name you were going to pick for yourself?”

“What, that?” Hands upon his hips, Rex simply nodded. “Sure, already told Mòrag a few days back. Same day as when you two told me about my family, really.”

“ _That_ fast? I would’ve expected a longer wait! Would’ve added more suspense to things, yeah?”

“I mean, I guess? It didn’t seem all that hard for me to decide, though. And besides—”

Rex found himself suddenly interrupted by the sound of an opening door, and in trod Dromarch, looking at him expectantly. “Master Rex? I believe they’re ready for you.”

Time had flown by quicker than he had anticipated, and it would’ve been a lie to say his nerves weren’t just about shot right now. But… the only thing he really _could_ do was to simply get it done and over with. He already know his aunt Corinne would be waiting in the audience, and if anyone deserved to see this, it was surely her.

“Right then. Let’s do this.”

* * *

“How do I look?”

“ _Fine_ , Mythra. Quit worrying so much. Aren’t _you_ supposed to be the maid of honor anyways?”

“Well yeah, but—!”

“Then _relax_. Everything will be just fine.” Pyra would’ve very likely reached over to give her sister’s cheek a playful poke, if it hadn’t been for Brighid currently working on some last minute hair styling for her — she supposed it shouldn’t have been terribly surprising for the Jewel of Mor Ardain to know such things. “Just trust me on this, okay?”

“I don’t know how you can be so calm, honestly. I’d be freaking out if it were me.”

“You already _are_ freaking out. Go grab a drink and just head on up to the altar. It’s almost time for me to get going anyways.”

“Fine. Fine! I’ll do just that!” With a speed befitting her status as an Aegis, Mythra had managed to grab a cup, fill it with water, and promptly chug the entire thing down in just a few scant seconds before tossing it into the nearest can. “Right. Okay. I can do this. Yeah.”

Brighid hummed a bit in idle amusement at Mythra’s predicament. “Repeating it won’t make it happen, you know.”

Rather than even dare to argue the point, Mythra instead quickly sounded the retreat and departed the room, leaving the two fire Blades as the sole occupants.

“I hope you’re not getting cold feet yet, Pyra.”

“I’d never dream of it, Brighid. Um.” A faint little laugh slipped out of her as she did her best to eye the woman behind her. “Thank you again for doing this, by the way.”

“My pleasure. Lady Mòrag never gives me the opportunity to do so, and I sometimes worry about my skills getting dull from lack of use… and no, my own hair doesn’t count.”

“Still, I appreciate it. It never crossed my mind to do something like this.”

“It _is_ a wedding. We can’t have you walking down the aisle looking anything less than your best.”

“I suppose. Rex being Rex, he probably would’ve said I looked beautiful anyways.”

Brighid cracked a grin as she completed a braid, taking a few more strands of Pyra’s hair in hand. “He always did seem the type.”

“Very true.” Whilst her hair was tended to, the sole Aegis remaining gave another glance down at herself, and made a mental note to adding a few things to her wardrobe — the dress she had been given by Corinne was shockingly comfortable, and if it weren’t for the emerald core crystal upon her chest, she likely would’ve been pegged as a Leftherian native. Dresses also meant no more armor, and much as her ‘typical’ outfit was so very _her_ , she also didn’t mind leaving it behind.

A couple more movements, and there was a sigh of content from behind her. “There. Care to take a look in the mirror?”

Nodding, Pyra slowly got to her feet and gave herself a quick glance, a broad smile beginning to spread across her features. “You truly are a wonder, Brighid.”

“Not exactly my most inspired work, given that it’s… well, a bun. But, it _does_ look quite cute, if I do say so myself.”

“Agreed.”

A faint knock upon the door, and Nia poked her head in. “Pyra? Yer up.”

“Well. Good timing, then.” A brief curtsy and another smile. “Thank you again, Brighid.”

Rather than respond, the Jewel of Mor Ardain merely waved her onward, a smile of her own upon her face.

If it weren’t for the others, she would have wondered aloud how her own Driver was doing.

* * *

This wait was absolutely nerve-wracking. He hadn’t walked to the altar alone, as Zeke had been right there beside him, and now stood patiently to the side. Which simply left… him, to wait for Pyra’s own appearance. He had already tried to busy himself by simply scanning the crowd, to see who had shown up — he could already spot almost the entirety of Fonsett scattered amongst the back, as well as some of the Garfont mercenaries. Moving further forward, Brighid stuck out like a sore thumb, seated next to Aegaeon, with the Emperor himself not too much further away. Near to them sat Pandoria, who looked like she had perhaps already gone through one or two boxes of tissues before the ceremony had even _begun_ , as well as Nia and Dromarch.

Nia caught his gaze, giving him a quick grin and a wave. He merely waved back.

Looking through the crowd again, he even managed to spot Tora and Poppi, though Tora’s height meant he was seemingly having difficulty seeing much of anything. About the only telltale sign of the nopon’s presence was his ridiculous hair sticking straight on end. And of course, front and center, was Aunt Corinne, who looked about as happy as could be — not that anyone could blame her. This was a momentous occasion, after all. Azurda could even be spotted way in the back, though it was about the only place the Titan could fit, given his size. Rex was sure he’d hear some sarcastic complaints about it later on.

Though, it was hard to focus on who else was in the crowd over the sound of Mythra’s own mild agitation. It seemed she was perhaps just as nervous as her sister, perhaps even more, and she seemed to be doing her very best to keep such noises to an absolute minimum. And though she was standing off to the side, much like Zeke, it seemed even she had gone all out for the wedding. Her dress wasn’t terribly unlike the one she often wore anyways, but… it looked good on her. Perhaps later on, once things had started to die down, he’d let her know. About the only other person he had yet to find in the crowd was…

“Rex, are you ready?”

Startled, he quickly turned about, blinking a bit in surprise. “...Mòrag? What are you doing here?”

“I’m officiating, of course. Being Special Inquisitor means that I’m _also_ technically an ordained minister. That, and… to be frank, I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing this for you when I’m fully capable of the feat myself.” She gave him a warm smile, nodding to him. “I’m quite proud of how far you’ve come, Rex.”

There wasn’t much else he could really say to that. “Aw, thanks, Mòrag.”

“You can thank me after the ceremony. I’ve come to understand that you’re something of a cook yourself, and you had a hand in almost all of the meal preparation.”

“Eh heh… you heard about that, did ya?”

“Nia is excellent at keeping secrets when she wishes to, and terrible when she does not.”

“Sure, but—”

Just as he was about to offer something in reply, the sound of instruments interrupted his train of thought, causing him to turn around once again — it seemed even in his old age, Cole wasn’t one to be left out of things, and he had dragged the entire theater’s brand from Uraya to Mor Ardain, just for them. The tune was… well, Rex certainly had never heard it, but it _did_ sound distinctly Leftherian. Either it was a song he had simply never heard of, or it was one that Cole had composed just for the occasion. Either was somewhat impressive, really.

And, signaled by Mythra’s sudden sniffling as she seemingly started to fight back tears, was the arrival of Pyra. She certainly looked like nothing he had ever seen, wearing a deep red dress that was as distinctly Fonsett as his own outfit, and her hair pulled back into a neat bun. She looked… remarkable, possibly more so than usual, if he were the one being asked.

Surely she must have known he was staring a bit, given how she slowed her own pace, and how widely she began to smile. He couldn’t help but smile right back at the sight of her, and he was almost certain it got her blushing a bit. Just a few steps, a few steps more, and she had already joined him at the altar, beaming at him as they laid eyes upon one another. They had done this time and time again, yet to do so now left them with the most peculiar feeling of nervousness.

They could stare at one another as much as they wanted later on — there was something that needed to be done. Mòrag cleared her throat to get their collective attention, and then began the task at hand. “We are gathered here today to celebrate with Rex and Pyra, as they proclaim their love and commitment to the world. We are gathered to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together.”

The crowd had hushed enough by then that the only things really audible were Pandoria and Mythra alike, both struggling to keep their emotions in check. Pandoria had seemingly moved on to box number three.

“Rex and Pyra, the relationship you enter into today must be grounded in the strength of your love and the power of your faith in each other. To make your relationship succeed, it will take unending love. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want what is best for one another, and to learn and grow together. It will take faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds. If you both come freely, and understand the responsibility and work involved to make your relationship thrive, and are committed to not only each other but your family, please take each other by the hands and reply 'we do’.”

Blade and Driver alike eagerly took one another’s hands, looking each other directly in the eyes as they spoke in unison. “We do.”

At Mòrag’s beckoning, another individual began to make their way down the aisle. Dromarch had, at some point, left his seat and retrieved the wedding bands, and now bore both within a very simple basket, evidently chosen just so he could manage it a bit easier on his own. The rings were passed along to Zeke—Mythra was almost inconsolable—who then gave one each to the bride and groom. Smiling, the Special Inquisitor nodded to the groom and continued. “Your vows, then. Rex?”

Gently, yet with more than a little bit of visible nervousness, Rex took Pyra’s hand into his own and slipped the ring upon her finger. “Pyra, you’re my best friend and everlasting companion. You’ve brought me the truest happiness I’ve ever known. I take joy today in committing my life to yours. With this ring, I promise to stand with you as we share this life, and cherish the memories we make together.”

“And Pyra?”

The Aegis already sported a blush about as intense as her hair upon having her ring given to her, but she went through the same motions as her Driver, taking his hand in hers and placing the ring upon him. “Rex, you’re my best friend and everlasting companion. You’ve brought me the truest happiness I’ve ever known. I take joy today in committing my life to yours. With this ring, I promise to stand with you as we share this life, and cherish the memories we make together.”

Pandoria had rapidly moved on to box number four, or perhaps it was five. Mythra had lost her fight long ago and was quietly crying by this point, no longer able to hold back her tears.

Mòrag briefly bowed her head, giving a smile to both Pyra and Rex alike before she finished her duty. “Rex and Pyra, today you have stood before these witnesses and declared your intent to commit your lives to each other in marriage. You have made promises to each other and your family. Your road to this moment has not always been smooth, but you continued to fight for one another. I hope you will never forget the fight and perseverance it has taken to get to this moment. And I hope you will never forget the love and joy you feel today, because these are the values that will keep your marriage, family, and bond to one another strong. And so, by the power vested in me by the office of Special Inquisitor of Mor Ardain, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

There were more than a few quiet murmurs as the two (not quite) newlyweds expectantly eyed one another. It was possible that Mòrag had picked up more than a few bad habits from Zeke, and was simply making them wait for dramatic effect.

“Rex, you may kiss the bride.”

With nothing else in the way, and permission freely given, Rex simply did something he had done several times a day, day after day, for months on end already — he brought his wife in for a much needed—and wanted—kiss.

Mòrag only barely managed to make herself heard over the applause that had already started, as well as the whooping and hollering coming out of Zeke’s mouth. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor that I officially present to you mister and missus Rex Tulach-Origo and Pyra Origo!”

Somewhere amidst the din of the cheering crowd, Mythra was openly sobbing.


	11. Epilogue: Left Unsaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six months on, some things still linger.
> 
> Mythra comes clean on just that.

And so it was that Rex and Pyra were officially married. Everyone ended up happy, the cake was cut, everyone got to try a bit of the Hero of Alrest’s cooking, and Corinne could  _ finally _ stop teasing her foster son over when he might settle down. The bouquet toss ended in a bit of a shock, as  _ Mythra _ ended up catching it — with no readily apparent suitors though, no one was quite sure just who she might end up with, and it was quickly swept under the rug. The honeymoon came and went, slipping by in the blink of an eye, and then everything seemingly went back to normal. That had been almost half a year ago.

Everyone ended up happy.

Or, at least, that’s how things should have gone, and it surely didn’t make her feel any less troubled by how  _ she _ felt about things. Her sister got married to possibly the best guy she had ever gotten to know, and she was immensely happy for the both of them. But…  _ she _ wasn’t happy. There was something in the pit of her stomach that simply would not leave, simply  _ refused _ to leave her be, no matter how hard she tried to will it away.

She was jealous. It wasn’t as if she had been completely cut out of the picture either, as Rex was still very attentive to her, and she certainly still lived with him and Pyra both. But… things  _ felt _ different. Having an official ceremony seemed to reveal what it was that was wrong to her — two people very dear to her were married. And she was not.

She was jealous. She cared for Rex, sure. But she didn’t think she should have cared about him to  _ this _ extent, and it had never really left after their grand journey had come to an end either. She had realized roughly around Indol that she was, quite possibly, starting to fall for him, and a small piece of her hoped that she would be the one he would wish to be with. But of course, that hadn’t been the case. He had wanted to be with Pyra instead, and how could she possibly fault him? Pyra was simply everything she… wasn’t.

She was jealous. She was unhappy. And there were some things she simply had to get off her chest. Things she had to tell him. Things she wanted to ask for his opinion on. Things she wanted to ask for an  _ answer  _ to.

There was a knock on her bedroom door, and looking up revealed Rex standing in the doorway — another six months had added a good bit more height to him, and he was now fairly close to Addam’s height. The two weren’t terribly unalike after all, it seemed. “Hey Mythra… everything alright?”

“Well…” Her stomach was doing flips, and she was sure she was gripping the edge of her bed hard enough to leave her own knuckles white. But… this needed to be done. “I’ve been… wanting to talk to you about some things.”

“Yeah, of course. You mind if I sit?”

“N-No, not at all.” 

Slowly, somewhat hesitantly, Rex entered her room and slowly shut the door behind himself.

“I’ve been wanting to talk… about us.”


End file.
